On the streets of Palo Alto, Uber drivers are facing the reality of an autonomous future. “The Waymos are everywhere now and soon we’re going to be replaced,” says Erik, who started serving passengers around Silicon Valley in his red Tesla Model 3 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

With self-driving vehicles on his turf, the former baker is getting ready to pivot. Because his car’s driver-assist system can navigate the wide suburban streets almost entirely on its own, he intends to take out a loan to finance a small fleet of Teslas after Elon Musk promised that his customers will soon be able to send their cars out to work for them.

Fifteen years after Google first unveiled its self-driving car project and kick-started a race that has already swallowed tens of billions of dollars of investment, so-called robotaxis finally appear ready to be a part of everyday life.