Waymo Launches Robotaxis in Detroit After GM Closed Rival Service

Waymo began operating robotaxis in Detroit. This came after General Motors shuttered Cruise last year. The launch puts Waymo in the Midwest for the first time and brings the service to a city where its biggest rival once operated.

Mary Barra closed Cruise in 2024. She said the business wasn't "core" to the automaker and offered no near-term payoff. Bloomberg pegged Cruise's value at $30 billion in 2022. A Silicon Valley investor now claims Waymo could hit trillions in valuation since it faces no serious competition.

Jacob Tretter leads the company's technical operations in the market. He worked at GM on the Chevy Volt hybrid before joining Cruise at the Tech Center in Warren.

The service runs on electric vans made in China by Zeekr. Zeekr is a luxury EV startup backed by Geely Automobile Holdings, which also owns Volvo Cars. The Biden administration banned the sale of Chinese-made electric vehicles, but the company sidestepped Commerce Department restrictions by sourcing and fitting all connected tech from American suppliers.

The firm shuttered a factory in the city earlier this year. That factory had received a $2 million grant from the Michigan Economic Strategic Fund and another $6 million in MEDC grants. Sixty employees worked there at its peak, doing contract work for Magna's payroll. Most transferred to an office in Novi or other Magna divisions across southeastern Michigan.

The company announced in May that it invested millions in a 239,000 square foot plant in Mesa, a Phoenix suburb, creating hundreds of jobs.

Detroit marks the service's expansion into a city with wintry conditions. Tretter said the firm would focus on the downtown dense urban core, according to the Detroit News.