Call an Uber in Phoenix and you might get a driverless Waymo, starting today
Waymo and Uber have rolled out a partnership in Phoenix wherein riders who order an Uber within Waymo’s service area might get picked up by a driverless Waymo vehicle, rather than a human-driven Uber car, starting today.
Waymo, Google’s driverless taxi arm, has been gradually rolling out its service to more members of the public and more locations recently. We rode it in Los Angeles earlier this month, where it is currently “touring” around the city and operating on a trial basis.
But its Phoenix service area is much larger – a total of 225 square miles – and has been running since 2017, in some capacity or another. In Phoenix, Waymo even services the Phoenix Sky Harbor airport for pickups and dropoffs.
So its service in Phoenix is more developed than elsewhere, to the point where Waymo and Uber now find themselves comfortable enough to offer driverless taxis to any random rider who requests an Uber pickup.
But if you order a human, you won’t be surprised to have an empty car pick you up. First, your pickup and dropoff points both have to be in Waymo’s service area, of course.
The area generally covers the area between downtown Phoenix, Tempe, Scottsdale, Mesa, and Chandler, including the aforementioned Phoenix Sky Harbor airport.
So, you order a car, with whatever pricing Uber has decided on for the time being (which suggests pricing will be identical between human and driverless taxis). Then, if the system finds a Waymo car that is convenient for your pickup, the app will give you a notification saying that a Waymo has been chosen for you, which you have the option to accept or decline. This is what the whole process looks like:
After accepting the driverless ride, the flow goes somewhat similar to how Waymo’s first-party Waymo One app works – the car decides where the best place to pick you up is, and may ask you to walk a short distance to that pickup point (it tries to avoid places that are busy and confusing – you can read more about that in our detailed log of our ride in LA). Then you need to unlock the car from within the Uber app when it arrives, hop in, and you’re off.
The system requires no additional registration with Waymo One, doesn’t require having that app on your phone, and doesn’t require any special settings within Uber’s app. If you want to be picked up by a Waymo, you can go into the “ride preferences” section of your Uber app and check a setting that will increase your chances.
Electrek’s Take
There are a lot of interesting notes to be had about this news.
Uber previously had a self-driving technology arm operating both in California and Arizona, but that arm was sold off in 2020 after a lot of setbacks. One of those setbacks included a lawsuit between Waymo and Uber over trade secrets (for which some legal action is still ongoing), so this partnership between the two companies, first announced in May and bearing fruit today, is curious given that context.
It’s also interesting that these Ubers look like they will be the same price whether you get a driver or not… at least for now?
One of the potential benefits of self-driving taxis is that they can save on labor costs, both making it cheaper and easier to get around and freeing up man-hours to increase productivity elsewhere in society.
With self-driving tech in its infancy, sensors and systems to run them are expensive, so we may not be there yet. But this also raises the specter of the possibility that as humans are made redundant, the pay that used to go to these humans will instead go to the owners of robots.
This runs the risk of concentrating wealth into the hands of few capital owners who own the driving robots, rather than the laborers who used to make money from driving, which is not a good thing for society. “Driver” is, after all, one of the most common job titles in the US, so while the potential societal gains are high from automation here, those gains need to be distributed properly or else there are going to be a lot of angry people with nothing to do.
We’re seeing the same conversation had throughout many industries with the advent of AI, and societally we really aren’t ready for this. Some of the more forward-thinking members of the tech industry have called for a “basic income” as a result, though others question if this is just a cynical ploy to undermine the current welfare state of targeted assistance to the needy.
Either way, this is something that we needed to talk about yesterday, and nobody’s having an adult conversation about it, and that’s a problem.
Instead, the conversation has focused on oft-sensationalized rhetoric about the safety of autonomous vehicles. Just this week, Cruise’s license to operate in California was revoked as a result of an accident earlier this month where the Cruise car was not initially at fault, but responded poorly in the post-accident scenario, and Cruise misrepresented facts to the DMV in attempting to cover-up the poor decisionmaking of its vehicle.
The reason for that cover-up is probably because Cruise wanted to avoid the societal flack it knew it would get. And that flack spills over to other AVs, Waymo included, which is unfortunate since Waymo does seem to have a better safety/reliability/responsibility record than Cruise – so far.
In short, there are a lot of difficult conversations to have here as a society related to the advent of AI, and how it can benefit everyone, but they really aren’t served by sensationalism. And the longer we put off having those conversations, the more technology is going to keep progressing, whether we want it to or not (and we should – we should just want it to happen responsibly for all of society).
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![Classic Jeep Grand Wagoneer gets a battery electric makeover [video]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/11/grand-wagoneer_EV_2.jpg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
Texas-based tuning firm Vigilante 4×4 is known for its wild, high-horsepower Jeep SJ Hemi restomods – but they’re more than just a hot rod shop. To prove it, they’ve developed a bespoke, all-electric skateboard chassis designed to turn the classic Jeep Grand Wagoneer into a modern, desirable electric SUV.
The scope of the Vigilante 4×4 electric chassis project is truly impressive. More than just a Jeep SJ frame with an electric drive train bolted in, the chassis is a completely fresh design that utilizes precise 3D scans of the original SJ Wagoneers, Grand Wagoneers, and J-Trucks to establish hard points, then fitted with low-slung battery packs to give the electric restomods superior weight balance, a lower center of gravity, and objectively improved ride and handling compared to its classic, ICE-powered forefathers.
The result is a purpose-built platform that delivers power to the wheels through a dual-motor system – one mounted in the front, and one at the rear – to provide a permanent, infinitely variable four-wheel drive system that offers both on-road performance and the kind of off-road capability that made the Grand Wagoneer famous in the first place.
Vigilante 4×4 electric Jeep SJ
“This isn’t a replacement for our Vigilante HEMI offerings,” reads the official copy. “It’s a total revisit of the Vigilante platform under electric power.”
The company emphasizes that its new chassis is still in the prototype stages. As such, there are no specs, there is no pricing, there are no range estimates. Despite it all, the response from Jeep enthusiasts has already been strong. “Keep in mind this is our first prototype,” a spokesperson said. “There’s still a lot of work to be done – but the journey has begun.”
Electrek’s Take
Retro done wrong – think the Dodge Charger Daytona EV or VW ID.Buzz – is a disaster. Always. If that nostalgic tone is just a little bit off, the song doesn’t work. The heartstrings don’t pull. Done right, however, the siren song of nostalgia will have you putting a second mortgage on your house to put a Singer Porsche or ICON Bronco in your garage.
It’s too soon to tell what side of that line the Vigilante 4×4 Jeep SJ will eventually fall, but one thing (at least) is certain: it’s closer to the mark than that Wagoneer S.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Vigilante 4×4, via Mopar Insiders.
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EQORE, a distributed battery storage startup based in Somerville, Massachusetts, has raised $1.7 million in seed funding to help industrial buildings tackle rising electricity costs. The round was oversubscribed and includes backing from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), Henry Ford III of Ford Motor Company, and Jonathan Kraft of The Kraft Group.
The timing couldn’t be more relevant. Data centers are booming, and that demand is slamming an already stressed grid. Big, utility-scale batteries help at the grid level, but they can’t fix the bottlenecks happening on local distribution networks. That’s where onsite storage steps in — storing energy when demand is low and discharging it when demand spikes, which helps stabilize costs for both the grid and the businesses using it.
MassCEC’s head of investments, Susan Stewart, said, “What excites us the most about EQORE’s technology is the dual impact: grid support and customer savings.” She noted that commercial and industrial buildings are ideal hosts for battery storage, but haven’t gotten much attention until now. “EQORE is closing that gap.”
Investor Randolph Mann highlighted what makes the company stand out: “By uniting advanced controls with high‑resolution metering and true end‑to‑end service, EQORE finally makes commercial behind-the-meter storage effortless and financially compelling for businesses.”
EQORE comes out of MIT’s Sandbox program and delta v accelerator and is currently part of the Harvard Climate Entrepreneurs Circle incubator. CEO and cofounder Valeriia Tyshchenko, a third‑generation engineer from Ukraine and MIT graduate, said the new funding will help the company scale alongside its existing revenue.
With the seed round closed, EQORE plans to grow its team and ramp up battery deployments at energy-intensive manufacturing facilities. The company doesn’t just install batteries; it operates them. Its autonomous software shifts when a facility uses power based on market conditions and utility incentives, reshaping load in real-time without disrupting operations.
Read more: Battery boom: 5.6 GW of US energy storage added in Q2
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![Check out Hyundai's cool new off-road electric SUV concept [Images]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/11/Hyundai-off-road-SUV.jpeg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
Hyundai took the sheets of its new off-road electric SUV, the Crater Concept, at the LA Auto Show. Here’s our first look at the compact off-roader.
Meet Hyundai’s new off-road SUV, the Crater Concept
We knew it was coming after Hyundai teased the off-road SUV earlier this week, hidden under a drape. Hyundai took the sheets off the Crater Concept at the LA Auto Show on Thursday, giving us our first real look at the rugged off-roader.
Hyundai refers to it as a compact off-road SUV that’s inspired by extreme events. The concept was brought to life at the Hyundai America Technical Center in Irvine, California.
The off-road SUV draws design elements from Hyundai’s Extra Rugged Terrain (XRT) models, such as the IONIQ 5 XRT, Santa Cruz XRT, and the new Pallisade XRT Pro.
Although it’s a concept, Hyundai said the Crater Concept is a testament to its commitment to designing future XRT vehicles that are more functional, more capable, and more emotional.
“CRATER began with a question: ‘What does freedom look like?’ This vehicle stands as our answer,” Hyundai’s global design boss, SangYup Lee said.
The off-road SUV features Hyundai’s new Art of Steel design theme, first showcased on the THREE concept at the Munich Motor Show in September.
Hyundai said the design team was guided by one clear goal: To create a rugged and capable vehicle that’s designed to go anywhere. The Crater Concept embodies that vision with added wide skid plates, 33″ off-road tires, limb risers, rocker panels, and a roof platform.
Hyundai designed the interior for “tech-savvy adventure seekers,” with a singular design centered around a high-brow crash pad that stretches across the dashboard.
The concept also swaps the traditional infotainment setup for a head-up display that spans the entire front window, which Hyundai said includes a live rearview camera.
Hyundai’s off-roader includes a new Off-Road Controller for front and rear locking differentials, as well as a terrain selector with modes including Sand, Snow, and Mud. Other off-road features include downhill brake control, trailer brake control, a compass, and an altimeter.
Although Hyundai said it was electric, it didn’t reveal any further details about the powertrain. The off-road SUV could be a battery-electric or fuel-cell-electric vehicle.
Like the new Nexo, Hyundai’s hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, the concept features “HTWO” lamps exclusive to its FCEVs.
Earlier this week, the design team at Hyundai Design North America also introduced its new design and ideation studio codenamed “The Sandbox.” The creative design studio is set to serve as a global hub for future XRT vehicles and gear.
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