Waymo's Autonomous Vehicle Rollout Insights

Investing.com — According to Morgan Stanley analysts, Waymo's latest cumulative miles driven data offers insights into its Level 4 autonomous vehicle rollout, impacting companies like Uber, Lyft, and Google.

In July, Waymo reported 25.3 million cumulative miles driven, a 3 million mile increase from June. This reflects 300% year-over-year growth and a 9% month-over-month increase, aligning with Morgan Stanley's estimates.

City-specific trends reveal that San Francisco and Austin exceeded expectations, while Phoenix and Los Angeles grew slower. The shift to monthly reporting provides analysts with better visibility into the scaling and adoption of autonomous vehicles.

Morgan Stanley highlighted that this monthly reporting establishes a unique insight into the pace of L4 autonomous adoption, especially as Waymo expands in existing markets and targets new ones like Atlanta.

As Waymo scales, Morgan Stanley suggests it might lead investors to reconsider Google's valuation, with the current market assigning an implied -$50 to -$60 billion value to Waymo within Google's stock price.

The deployment of Waymo's robotaxis could also create strategic challenges for Uber and Lyft, as accelerated autonomous vehicle adoption shifts competition in the ride-hailing industry. Morgan Stanley will continue to monitor Waymo's progress, particularly regarding sustainable unit economics.

In conclusion, Morgan Stanley believes Waymo's steady rollout of autonomous offerings presents both opportunities and risks for Google and the broader transportation industry as robotaxis gain traction.