Waymo Hits a Rough Patch in Washington, D.C.

Waymo, the Alphabet subsidiary that develops self-driving vehicle tech, has picked up speed. The company now operates robotaxis in six cities and has announced plans to launch in a dozen others this year. It just raised $16 billion in a new round of funding and says it has served over 20 million rides since the company launched its service in 2020, 14 million of them in 2025 alone.

But Waymo's mostly smooth operations have hit a rough patch in Washington, D.C., where the company first began testing in 2024. Despite frequent District sightings of the now-familiar white, electric Jaguars, and despite spending tens of thousands of dollars in payments to at least four outside lobbying firms last year, according to filings, the company’s robotaxis are stuck in regulatory limbo. It has no firm debut date in the city, though D.C. is still listed on its website as launching in 2026. Waymo declined to comment.

The legal logjam is a highly visible test for a company—and industry—that’s hoping to expand quickly across the U.S. and, to some extent, the world. (Waymo has said it’s launching in London this year and in Japan at some point in the future.) For years, autonomous-vehicle companies have argued, unsuccessfully, that Congress should pass federal regulations governing testing and operations nationwide.

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