Waymo's 6th-Gen Robotaxi on Hyundai Ioniq 5: What It Means for the Autonomous Race | Taha Abbasi

Waymo has unveiled its sixth-generation autonomous driving platform, built on the Hyundai Ioniq 5 — a strategic shift that signals a new phase in the autonomous vehicle race. Taha Abbasi breaks down what this partnership means and how it changes the competitive dynamics with Tesla’s robotaxi program.

The Hyundai Partnership

Waymo’s decision to build its 6th-gen platform on the Hyundai Ioniq 5 represents a departure from the Jaguar I-PACE that powered its previous generation. The Ioniq 5 offers a more cost-effective, higher-volume base vehicle — a practical choice as Waymo expands beyond its initial markets. Hyundai’s manufacturing scale and EV expertise provide a foundation for the fleet expansion Waymo needs to achieve commercial viability.

For Taha Abbasi, who has compared Waymo and Tesla approaches extensively, this partnership underscores a fundamental philosophical difference: Waymo buys vehicles and adds autonomy; Tesla builds vehicles with autonomy integrated from the start.

Sensor Suite Evolution

The 6th-gen sensor suite reportedly reduces cost and complexity while improving capability. Waymo continues to use a combination of LiDAR, cameras, and radar — the multi-sensor approach that Taha Abbasi often contrasts with Tesla’s vision-only strategy. The reduced sensor cost is critical for Waymo’s economics; previous generations carried hundreds of thousands of dollars in sensor hardware per vehicle.

Whether the multi-sensor approach or Tesla’s camera-only approach ultimately prevails remains one of the most consequential technical debates in autonomy. Both approaches have demonstrated impressive capability within their operating domains — Waymo in geofenced urban areas, Tesla across highway and urban environments globally.

Expansion Plans

Waymo currently operates commercial robotaxi services in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, with expansion planned for additional cities including Austin and Atlanta. The 6th-gen platform is designed to accelerate this expansion by reducing per-vehicle costs and simplifying deployment. Waymo has projected reaching 1 million weekly rides as a near-term milestone.

Tesla vs. Waymo: The Scoreboard

Taha Abbasi maintains that the Tesla vs. Waymo comparison is not a simple apples-to-apples contest. Waymo leads in current commercial deployment — it offers paid robotaxi rides today in multiple cities. Tesla leads in fleet size and data collection — millions of vehicles with FSD generate orders of magnitude more driving data than Waymo’s fleet of thousands.

The question is which advantage proves more durable. Waymo’s operational experience is real and valuable, but scaling a geofenced service city-by-city is inherently slower than Tesla’s approach of pushing software updates to millions of vehicles simultaneously. Conversely, Tesla’s supervised FSD must still cross the threshold to unsupervised operation before it can compete as a commercial robotaxi service.

What This Means for Riders

Ultimately, riders win regardless of which company prevails. More competition means faster deployment, lower prices, and better service. Taha Abbasi predicts that by 2028, robotaxi service will be available in most major U.S. cities from multiple providers — Waymo, Tesla, and potentially Zoox (Amazon) — each with different approaches but converging on the same promise: safe, affordable, autonomous transportation.

---

About the Author: Taha Abbasi is a technology executive, CTO, and applied frontier tech builder. Read more on Grokpedia | YouTube: The Brown Cowboy | tahaabbasi.com