# Waymo's PR Problem and Tesla's Missed Deadlines

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/autonomy-markets-7029086/waymo-s-pr-problem-and-tesla-s-missed-deadlines
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/autonomy-markets-7029086/waymo-s-pr-problem-and-tesla-s-missed-deadlines.md
Podcast: [Autonomy Markets](https://stenobird.com/podcast/autonomy-markets-7029086)
Published: 2026-01-05T02:01:33+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lightshed-ventures5/episodes/Waymos-PR-Problem-and-Teslas-Missed-Deadlines-e3d6a3h
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/fb7df34c/podcast/play/113501745/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-0-5%2F415491120-44100-2-e020896626d13.mp3
Processing state: processed
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/autonomy-markets-7029086/episodes/waymo-s-pr-problem-and-tesla-s-missed-deadlines
Duration seconds: 2502

## Resource

This week on Autonomy Markets , Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss the fallout from Waymo’s crisis management failure in San Francisco, where a power outage left hundreds of vehicles stranded and blocking intersections throughout the city. Waymo’s prolonged silence on the incident and lack of transparency regarding what truly happened could lead to a decline in public trust just as robotaxis begin to scale. Down in Austin, Tesla missed their 2025 driver-out deadline in Austin, prompting Grayson to push his prediction for driver-out/safety attendant out commercial service to late February or early March 2026. Then there is Uber, a company with an ever-changing narrative around autonomy—shifting from demand-generation to hybrid networks, and now claiming mass adoption is still decades away. What will the next narrative be, and will it change once again post-CES? Closing out the show, Grayson and Walt discuss how escalating geopolitical tensions in Venezuela and potential political shifts in the UK could force a hard reset for companies relying on Chinese autonomous technology to scale their robotaxi businesses. Episode Chapters 0:00 Lights Out in San Francisco 2:44 Why Did Waymo’s Freeze When the Power Went Out? 8:34 Remote Drivers 15:00 Robotaxi in Austin 18:33 Scaling Robotaxi 22:48 Autonomous Vehicle Policy 24:47 Austin Incident Reports 27:17 Uber’s Ever-Changing Narrative 30:31 Miami-Dade Sheriff Deploys Autonomous Patrol Vehicles 32:38 Foreign Autonomy Desk 40:26 CES Autonomy is transforming industries and creating an entirely new economy that we call the autonomy economy™. The Road to Autonomy provides advisory and market intelligence services that helps you better understand the market and stay ahead of what’s coming next. To learn more, say hello (at) roadt…

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