01 / Field guide
Who does the work when a robotaxi has no driver?
Driverless rides still need dispatch, charging, cleaning, remote assistance, and recovery. Those operations decide whether robotaxis can scale.
Read the storyAutonomous mobility · Notes by KahWee Teng
The car drives itself. The work doesn't.
I write about robotaxis, the people who keep them running, and whether the rides pay for the work.
Beyond the demo
Autonomy has a back office.
A car needs charging, a clean cabin, and someone to call when it gets stuck. That’s my beat.
- 01Dispatch
- 02Charge
- 03Clean
- 04Rescue
- 05Insure
- 06Regulate
Start here / 02 field guides
How driverless services work.
02 / Field guide
Gig platforms after Prop 22: unions, robotaxis, and the earnings grind
Contractor labor still carries gig platforms. California bargaining, insurance changes, and autonomous supply each move a different cost.
Read the storyLatest writing
Recent notes.
Waymo's Caltrain bet starts with 40 parking spaces
Waymo plans to lease 40 Caltrain parking spaces. The economics depend on pickup waits, repeat riders, and whether the whole trip beats driving.
Robotaxis: what actually ships (and what still needs a person)
A robotaxi launch can mean driverless rides, a supervised pilot, or a fleet plan. Booking access and the work between trips tell them apart.
Waymo's open doors turn driverless rides into gig work
Waymo's Atlanta door-closing pilot shows where driverless driving stops. A person still has to return the car to service.
Lyft’s soft Q1 outlook needs more than a weather explanation
Lyft paired a strong 2025 with cautious Q1 guidance. The guidance gives no lost-ride data to isolate the storm’s cost.
Uber grew fast in Q4. The earnings miss needs a closer look.
Uber’s Q4 2025 bookings and cash flow grew, while investment marks complicated EPS. The operating margin deserves its own read.
Tesla started Cybercab production; the ride business is still the test
Tesla began Cybercab production in 2026. Building vehicles cleared one checkpoint; paid fleet hours and operating costs needed their own evidence.
DoorDash's Q3 profit was real. Its new spending still needs a scorecard.
DoorDash earned $244 million in Q3 2025 and planned a large increase in 2026 investment. The global technology stack is the test.
Lyft crossed $1 billion in annual free cash flow. Read the costs too.
Lyft generated $1.03 billion in trailing annual free cash flow in Q3 2025. More rides helped, but insurance still had to be paid.
Q3 2025 gig earnings: Demand grew. So did the cost questions.
Uber, DoorDash, and Lyft grew in Q3 2025. Their filings showed different costs behind the extra trips, orders, and cash flow.
Waymo's 2025 expansion promises met three different launch tests
Waymo named Detroit, Las Vegas, and San Diego in 2025. By September 2026, public rides had begun in two; Detroit still needed a public launch.