Waymo has notified Uber Technologies of plans to launch its proprietary ride-hailing application in Austin and Atlanta in January 2028, ending its exclusive platform partnership in both markets. Existing Waymo vehicles will remain accessible on the Uber application until the current contract expires in May 2028, though independent operations will proceed concurrently. Separately, a former operational manager for Tesla Inc.’s autonomous vehicle testing program, Javier Medrano, has filed a federal wrongful-termination lawsuit in Houston alleging severe operational understaffing. Medrano served as the sole manager overseeing 38 safety operators across three continuous daily shifts in Houston—a 38:1 operator-to-manager ratio that exceeded Tesla’s internal 15:1 safety baseline. The complaint details systemic fatigue, alleging test drivers worked 60 to 80 hours per week. Following unheeded internal escalations, a March 2025 collision involving a test vehicle and a pedestrian highlighted emergency response failures linked to extreme sleep deprivation. Medrano was terminated on May 1, 2025. The lawsuit contends that chronic understaffing undermines the integrity of Tesla’s safety oversight data as the company seeks regulatory clearance for driverless commercial deployments.