Waymo — New Testing, Uber Fallout, Fine Bonanza

This is a self-driving car story, not a home energy one, so there is little here that touches your own house directly. Waymo, the robotaxi company, is testing a new electric van model in Pittsburgh, and separate research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found its cars were involved in 68% fewer police-reportable crashes per mile than human drivers in four cities where it operates.

On the less flattering side, Waymo has racked up $9,325 in parking fines in Austin since launching there in 2024, apparently from its cars not always finding legal spots on their own.

The bigger development is that Waymo and Uber are pulling apart in Austin and Atlanta, the two cities where their partnership grew the most. Waymo reportedly plans to launch its own service in those cities in January 2028, once it's allowed to, rather than keep routing rides through Uber's app. The breakup seems to stem from disagreements over vehicle cleaning, routing, financial terms, and how Waymo's cars handle bad weather. In one case, a group of Waymo vehicles blocked a cul-de-sac in Atlanta, a mix-up tied to Uber's fleet management rather than Waymo's driving software itself.

None of this affects home energy upgrades or rebates, but if robotaxis expand into more cities, it could change transportation options where you live down the road.