Waymo opens Ojai robotaxis to select riders as company aims to lower cost of fleet expansion

Cnbc · 🇺🇸 public United States · May 28, 2026 · 552 words · By Jennifer Elias; MacKenzie Sigalos

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What to know about Waymo opens Ojai robotaxis to select riders as company aims to lower cost of fleet expansion

Waymo is starting to offer select customers rides in its new Ojai robotaxis, which are designed to work better in snowier conditions and are cheaper to manufacture than the company's older fleet of cars.

Claims checked 21

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center83%

Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

Rides will be available to some public passengers in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix, before opening up in San Diego, Las Vegas and Denver this summer, Waymo said in a statement on Thursday.

Common ground

Alphabet's self-driving division already had 100 Ojai vehicles on the road as part of its almost 4,000-car fleet.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Waymo opens Ojai robotaxis to select riders as company aims to lower cost of fleet expansion?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Waymo is starting to offer select customers rides in its new Ojai robotaxis?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/28/waymo-opens-ojai-robotaxis-to-some-riders-aims-t…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 21 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 11

check_circle Corroborated 8

verified Verified By Reference 2

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Claim 1: “Waymo is starting to offer select customers rides in its new Ojai robotaxis”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm Waymo has opened its Ojai robotaxi to select riders in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Waymo LLC (/ weɪmoʊ / WAY-moh) is an American autonomous driving technology company headquartered in Mountain View, California. It is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., Google 's parent company.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waymo

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The Waymo Ojai is a battery electric robotaxi manufactured by Zeekr for Waymo since December 2024 and in passenger service since May 2026.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waymo_Ojai

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Waymo—formerly the Google self-driving car project—makes it safe and easy for people & things to get around with autonomous vehicles. Take a ride now.
https://waymo.com/

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Claim 2: “Alphabet's self-driving division already had 100 Ojai vehicles on the road as part of its almost 4,000-car fleet”

CORROBORATED

A web search result explicitly states Waymo has 100 Ojai vehicles on the road within a nearly 4,000-car fleet.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Anthony Levandowski (born March 15, 1980) is a French-American, self-proclaimed self-driving car engineer. In 2009, Levandowski co-founded Google's self-driving car program, known as Waymo, and was a …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Levandowski

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Waymo LLC ( WAY-moh) is an American autonomous driving technology company headquartered in Mountain View, California. It is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company. As of March 2026, Wa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waymo

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Zeekr Mix (Chinese: 极氪MIX; pinyin: Jíkè MIX) is a battery electric minivan produced by Geely Automobile Holdings under the premium electric automobile brand Zeekr. Built exclusively for sale on th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeekr_Mix

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 3: “plans to begin service in London later this year”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 4: “Waymo... got a $16 billion cash infusion in February from parent company Alphabet and other backers”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 5: “Ojai cars are roomier and also have removable steering wheels in them”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 6: “The cars have also has been outfitted with improved lidar that can see through heavy rain and snow conditions”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 7: “is looking to hit 1 million weekly trips by the end of the year”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 8: “Waymo issued a voluntary recall of about 3,800 of its robotaxis to fix software issues that could allow them to drive into flooded roadways”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 9: “The company has driven over 20 million overall autonomous rides”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 10: “have upgraded audio receivers that can better hear sirens and and other noises”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 11: “The Ojai is the first vehicle to take advantage of the sixth-generation Waymo Driver”

CORROBORATED

Web search results explicitly identify the Ojai as the first vehicle with Waymo's sixth-generation driver.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Feb 12, 2026 ... Waymo will begin fully autonomous operations with its 6th-generation Driver —an important step in bringing our technology to more riders in ...
https://waymo.com/blog/2026/02/ro-on-6th-gen-waymo-driver

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — May 28, 2026 ... This is the Waymo Ojai, the first vehicle with Waymo's sixth generation driver, which in the first instance means fewer sensors, about 40 ...
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DY46P6fFQZx/

travel_explore

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Claim 12: “The Ojai robotaxis require fewer costly cameras and sensors than the previous Jaguar I-PACE vehicles”

CORROBORATED

Web search results explicitly state that the Ojai cuts sensor count by 42% compared to the Jaguar I-PACE it replaces.

schedule

Claim 13: “The doors open and close automatically”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 14: “Ojai robotaxis are designed to work better in snowier conditions and are cheaper to manufacture than the company's older fleet of cars”

CORROBORATED

Web search results explicitly state the Ojai costs roughly $75,000 less to produce than the Jaguar I-PACE. While 'snowier conditions' isn't explicitly detailed in the snippets, the cost reduction is strongly corroborated.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Waymo Ojai is a battery electric robotaxi manufactured by Zeekr for Waymo since December 2024 and in passenger service since May 2026.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waymo_Ojai

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 15: “The company will have thousands of Ojai cars on the road by the end of the year”

CORROBORATED

Web search results cite Ryan Powell (head of design) stating the plan is to have thousands of Ojai cars rolling by year-end.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Zeekr Intelligent Technology Holding Limited, trading as Zeekr Group (Chinese: 极氪集团), is a Chinese automobile company. It is wholly owned by Geely Automobile Holdings. Zeekr was founded in 2021 as a s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeekr

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 16: “Rides will be available to some public passengers in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix, before opening up in San Diego, Las Vegas and Denver this summer”

CORROBORATED

Web search results confirm availability in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. The expansion plans to other cities are mentioned in the context of the Ojai launch.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — A self-driving car, also known as an autonomous car, driverless car, robotic car, or robo-car, is a car that is capable of operating with reduced or no human input. They are sometimes called robotaxis…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-driving_car

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+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 17: “Waymo said last week that it's temporarily pausing freeway rides after spotting problems with its performance around construction zones”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 18: “In the new vehicles, Waymo uses its own custom chips”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 19: “The vehicles... are made by China's Geely”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and web search results confirm the Ojai is manufactured by Zeekr, which is wholly owned by Geely Automobile Holdings.

verified

Claim 20: “Waymo first announced the Ojai design in 2024”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Both Wikipedia and web search results confirm that Waymo first announced the Ojai design in 2024.

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 21: “In February, the company opened rides to employees and their guests in San Francisco and Los Angeles”

CORROBORATED

Web search results confirm that in February, the company opened rides to employees and guests in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Waymo LLC is an American autonomous driving technology company headquartered in Mountain View, California. It is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., Google's ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waymo

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — May 28, 2026 ... Waymo first announced the Ojai design in 2024. ... In February, the company opened rides to employees and their guests in San Francisco and Los ...
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/28/waymo-opens-ojai-robotaxis-t…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — May 28, 2026 ... Google's Waymo has opened its first purpose built robotaxi, the Ojai, to riders in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix, with free rides for a ...
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DY46P6fFQZx/

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.