When will Waymo offer a public driverless ride of their next generation vehicles (Zeekr, possibly no steering wheel)?

Question

[image]Background:

Waymo has been publically talking about their 6th-generation vehicle since the end of 2021. It has the possibility of having no steering wheel or pedals.

Currently, Waymo uses vehicles based on Jaguar I-paces, with on the order of a few hundred vehicles in service. The new platform could be significantly cheaper and potentially more capable. Thus, the release of these vehicles is significant, as it might begin the more rapid expansion of the number of vehicles and availability of an autonomous taxi service.

Question:

By when will members of the public ride in these vehicles through the Waymo One app (or successor apps)?

Details:

Members of the public excludes Waymo/Alphabet employees, or selective demonstration rides. It must be hailed through an app, but possibly might be restricted to some form of waitlist of "trusted testers". The rides must be fully driverless, but can have a steering wheel. The rides may be in any city.

This market resolves on Waymo public announcements, or credible news media.

Pacific Time zone will be used for dates, with before a given date, referring to before 00:00 Pacific on that date.

Update 2025-11-01 (PST) (AI summary of creator comment): - Hyundai IONIQ 5 vehicles will not count towards a "yes" resolution. These were announced as a partnership in October 2024 and were on display at CES in January 2025.

The resolution pertains specifically to Zeekr vehicles without steering wheels as per the question wording.

Manifold Markets · Answer

Per Manifold Markets prediction market, Before July 1, 2026 is most likely. See the market for live updates (23 traders, as of Mar 4, 2026).