Waymo driverless taxis are traversing over 2 million miles a week across U.S. cities  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

June 28, 2025 THE COVER STORY Do you ever need to drive a car again? BY SAM JACOBS Editor in Chief, TIME Anyone who has recently visited San Francisco, or a handful of other American cities, and gotten into the back seat of a Waymo self-driving car has likely had the strange sensation of experiencing the present collapsing into the future. "Self-driving cars have long featured in sci-fi renderings of the future, but many people don't realize that a handful of cities already exist in that future—and that the transition has been relatively painless," Andrew R. Chow writes this week in a new TIME cover story. "In San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin, Waymo's 1,500 driverless taxis are completing more than 250,000 paid rides and traversing over 2 million miles a week: more than double their reach last year. A peer-reviewed May paper found that over 56.7 million miles, Waymos were involved in 85% fewer crashes with serious injuries than the average human…Culturally, they have mostly been accepted into these cities as mere facts of the road." Chow talks to Waymo's leaders, Tekedra Mawakana and Dmitri Dolgov, about just where this future is taking us. The story is part of our annual TIME100 Companies project, highlighting the world's most influential businesses. Please take a look and let us know what company we should include next year. Sam@time.com. READ THE STORY » What I've been reading this week Exclusive: Thai Princes Banished Again, Eldest Says 'I Did Nothing Wrong' Juthavachara Vivacharawongse speaks exclusively with TIME about his family's banishment from Thailand and his desire for reconciliation. Zohran Mamdani's Success Sparks a Democratic Reckoning—and a GOP Attack Plan "He instantly becomes the face of the Democratic Party," Rep. Mike Lawler tells TIME, referring to Mamdani. Column: An Iranian Nobel Laureate Warns Americans 'What It Means to Lose Democracy' Narges Mohammadi warns Americans the rights and freedoms we take for granted are not guaranteed. What Experts Use to Repel Ticks and Mosquitoes Here's what to know about their preferred synthetic insecticide.   Want more from TIME? Sign up for our other newsletters.         Subscribe to TIME TIME may receive compensation for some links to products and services in this email. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Connect with TIME via Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters PRIVACY POLICY | YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS Questions? Contact newsletters@time.com Update your email preferences or unsubscribe here © 2025 TIME USA, LLC. All rights reserved. TIME Customer Service, P.O. Box 37508 Boone, IA 50037-0508, United States of America Terms of Service