Waymo is pursuing a multi-continent expansion, entering Tokyo and Singapore, launching in Las Vegas, and securing an insurance partnership with Allianz that analysts say removes the final obstacle to European scaling, while Tesla’s robotaxi rollout remains limited to a 40-vehicle Austin fleet pending a federal safety audit. Speaking on Road to Autonomy, analysts Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk argued the autonomy race has shifted from a technology problem to a regulatory and unit-economics problem. Waymo is assembling prerequisites including OEM partners Hyundai and Toyota, insurance infrastructure from Allianz and Swiss Re, and corporate entities including a $20.2 billion holding company registered in 2020. Tesla is treating the NHTSA fact-finding mission as a gate it will not cross before year-end 2026. NHTSA opened Audit Query 26002 on September 3, the same day paid Cybercab rides began in Austin, and issued a Special Order on September 10 demanding answers on 21 compliance questions. The analysts also discussed May Mobility’s SPAC filing, revealing a $270,000 per-vehicle bill of materials, and questioned whether announced autonomous trucking and robotaxi routes from Einride and Pony.ai are shorter and more constrained than headlines suggest.