The only way to get into Elon Musk’s Robotaxi before it debuts

About a month ago, I flew home from a business trip at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. It was late. My wife and children were sleeping. So, I got a ride from a ride app. The car arrived. He took me to my house in the suburbs. He left me.

It was a typical travel experience.

Except for one critical detail…

There was no driver.

The car that picked me up from the airport, drove me through Phoenix, and dropped me off at my house had no driver.

It was a fully autonomous vehicle operated by Waymo.

Waymo is the autonomous unit at Alphabet Inc. (Google). It has been working on the development of autonomous vehicle technology for over a decade. For the past few years, it has been quietly testing its technology with self-driving cars in Phoenix and several other US cities. People in those areas can hail an autonomous Waymo and drive it from place to place. I bet many of you live near one of them and can try this yourself

This is what I did for my trip from Phoenix Sky Harbor International to my home.

And you can Check out my video report from that trip right here.

Here’s how it works

After downloading the Waymo One app, I hailed a ride, the same way you hail an Uber or Lyft through their apps.

Arrived at the airport pickup location. I unlocked the car with my phone and stepped behind the vehicle. I set my bags down, put on my seat belt, and clicked “Start Ride” on an iPad-like display in the back seat.

The Waymo — which, in my case, was a Jaguar — drove itself away from the airport, navigated Phoenix traffic, and about 30 minutes later dropped me off safely at my home.

It was a wonderful experience.

And not an isolated one.

Waymo currently delivers more than 100,000 self-driving rides per week in Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

There are many walks!

And they grow fast. Just a few months ago, Waymo was only completing about 50,000 rides per week — meaning it doubled its ride volume in just a few months.

I think that number will also double in the next few months.

Earlier this summer, Waymo announced it was expanding its driving range in Phoenix to include freeways. Less than two months ago, it announced the expansion of driving areas in San Francisco and Los Angeles. And in just a few months, Waymo plans to launch autonomous rides to Austin and Atlanta.

In addition, the company has collaborated with Uber Technologies Inc. (UBER) to autonomously deliver food through Uber Eats in select locations, including Phoenix.

Waymo seems to be firing on all cylinders right now.

Maybe that’s why Alphabet just invested an extra $5 billion in the company. With that much funding, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Waymo operating in every major US metro by the end of 2025.