John Krafcik, former CEO of Google’s Waymo and a current Rivian Board Member, recently commented on the progress of self-driving cars, highlighting the technology’s contribution to advanced driver-assistance systems.
In an interview with Automotive News published this Wednesday, he said that ride-hailing services powered by autonomous vehicles are unlikely to replace personal cars.
“The idea that we’ll have personal robotaxis in our driveway in two years is silly,” he stated. “However, ADAS, assisted driving systems are getting much better and I really like that.”
John Krafcik led Waymo, Google’s autonomous driving company, between 2015 and 2021. Before that, he had also led Hyundai America for 5 years.
Two years ago, the auto industry veteran joined Rivian‘s Board of Directors, where he currently serves as the Chair of the Nominating & Governance Committee.
Rivian Autonomy
Using the upcoming Rivian R2 as an example, Krafcik explained that safety technologies are shaping modern vehicle design, with features like LiDAR sensors being added to support self-driving as the technology becomes more affordable.
The SUV, set to be launched in the following months, will support Rivian‘s Autonomy platform, also available for second-generation R1 models.
At last month’s ‘Autonomy & AI Day’ event, Rivian unveiled the first R2 builds with embedded LiDAR sensors, after previously teasing the integration of the sensors.
A few days later, the company launched a major software update, which included the expansion of its Autonomy platform coverage by 24 times to 3.5 million miles of marked roads.
In its “hands-off, eyes-on” feature, which it now calls ‘Universal Hands-Free,’ the vehicle operates both on and off highways as long as “the lane lines are clearly marked.”
Starting in February, customers will be able to subscribe to the platform for $49.99 per month or purchase it outright for $2,500.
“Think hundreds of dollars, right,” he told the outlet, “and you get extraordinarily rich incremental data,” collected by vehicles equipped with LiDAR.
According to Krafcik, “that can be so helpful to ensuring that there are no obstructions in front of the car or there are obstructions and exactly how far away they are.”
To him, about half of personally owned vehicles will have advanced driver-assistance features, such as hands-free driving with eyes on the road, by the end of the decade.
Tesla Criticism
Last year, as Tesla expanded its Robotaxi service to the Bay Area a month after launching in Austin, Krafcik said he’s not interested in trying Tesla Robotaxis.
“If they were striving to re-create today’s Bay Area Uber experience, looks like they’ve absolutely nailed it,” he stated then.
On Wednesday’s interview, the former Waymo CEO said that Tesla and Elon Musk have been deceiving customers for over a decade.
“It’s been 10 years, that’s a decade of broken promises.” he said, adding that “there should be some accountability for that.”
Additionally, he considered that only a few companies commited to self-driving have survived a “hype cycle” in the past years.
“We went through the hype cycle and so many companies crashed and burned and there are now so few left,” Krafcik noted, adding that he could “proudly” say that “Waymo is one of them.”
The former executive believes that, based on Waymo’s vehicle deployment across several US cities, people are likely to view robotaxis as a complement to their personal cars rather than a substitute.
“I think people are finding increasingly they don’t need two cars in the garage,” he commented. “Or if they have three cars, they don’t need three anymore, they can get by with two. If they have two, they can get by with one.”
At the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) event, held in Las Vegas this week, John Krafcik received the Automotive Hall of Fame’s 2026 Mobility Innovator Award.
As of press time, Rivian shares were trading 3% higher at $20.19 on Wednesday’s market session.
After a sharp rise in mid-December that pushed the EV maker’s share price to a 2025 high of $22.69, the stock has since fallen 13.9%, closing at $19.53 on Tuesday.
