Waymo just announced it's launching manual test drives in Minneapolis, Tampa and New Orleans, pushing its 2026 expansion list to an ambitious 15 cities. The Google-owned robotaxi company is betting big on nationwide rollout while tackling its toughest challenge yet: winter driving conditions that could make or break autonomous vehicle adoption.
Waymo is moving fast. The Alphabet subsidiary just announced it's starting manual test drives in Minneapolis, Tampa and New Orleans, bringing its 2026 expansion target to a staggering 15 cities. That's not just growth - it's a land grab for the autonomous vehicle future.
The timing tells the real story. Just two days ago, Waymo announced plans to launch driverless service in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Miami and Orlando in the coming weeks. Add that to previously announced 2026 markets including Detroit, Denver, Las Vegas, Nashville, San Diego, Washington D.C., and even London, and you're looking at the most aggressive robotaxi expansion in history.
"2026 is very much on the table, but we'll be led by our safety framework," Waymo spokesperson Ethan Teicher told CNBC. That careful phrasing reveals the pressure Waymo faces - balancing breakneck expansion with the safety validation that regulators and riders demand.
The Minneapolis addition is particularly telling. Along with Denver and Detroit, it signals Waymo believes it's nearly ready to crack autonomous driving's toughest nut: winter conditions. Snow, ice, and freezing temperatures have long been the Achilles heel of self-driving technology, where camera sensors struggle and roadway markings disappear under slush.
"We currently operate at freezing temperatures, including with frost and hail, and we're validating our system to navigate harsher weather conditions," Teicher explained. The company plans to start with small fleets that expand over time - a cautious approach that suggests even Waymo isn't entirely confident about winter performance yet.
But the numbers back up Waymo's confidence elsewhere. The service now handles more than 250,000 weekly paid trips across Austin, San Francisco Bay Area, Phoenix, Atlanta and Los Angeles. Since launching commercial service in 2020, Waymo has provided over 10 million paid rides - dwarfing competitors like Tesla's Full Self-Driving beta or Cruise's troubled expansion.
Last week's freeway launch in San Francisco, Phoenix and Los Angeles marked another critical milestone. High-speed highway driving presents unique challenges - merge lanes, aggressive drivers, construction zones - that city streets don't. Waymo's willingness to tackle freeways signals growing confidence in its fifth-generation Driver technology.
