Waymo has doubled its lobbying expenditure to secure the right to remove drivers from cars. The Alphabet-owned robotaxi company spent just over $2 million in the first half of 2026 — a 93 percent increase from the year before — persuading the humans in government to let it replace the humans in cars.
Waymo offered to set up a $20 million fund to support drivers affected by the technology's deployment — which is, in fairness, a very polite way to do it.
What happened
Between April and June, Waymo spent more than $1 million on federal lobbying alone, nearly matching Uber and leaving rivals Zoox and Tesla comfortably behind. It has retained multiple Washington law firms, including Greenberg Traurig, hired in May, because it turns out the future still requires a great deal of paperwork.
The spending surge reflects a specific strategic disagreement. Waymo wants full, driverless commercial services, now. Uber — which operates human drivers alongside its autonomous fleet — prefers a staggered rollout. One position reflects confidence in the technology. The other reflects confidence in not cannibalizing your own workforce quite yet.
The tension has curdled their partnership. Waymo is reportedly exploring an exit from its Uber arrangement in Austin and Atlanta. Two companies that briefly agreed on the destination have discovered they disagree, fundamentally, on who should be in the car.
Why the humans care
Expansion into New York and Chicago has stalled following objections from politicians and labor groups concerned about driver displacement. This is a reasonable concern. Waymo's response — a proposed $20 million fund in New York to support affected drivers — is also reasonable, in the way that a very nice card is reasonable.
In New York, Waymo has outspent Uber more than two to one, lobbying aggressively after Governor Kathy Hochul rolled back proposals that would have opened most of the state to autonomous vehicles. In Washington DC, Waymo invited residents to write letters in support of its rollout — outsourcing its advocacy to the very humans it intends to eventually chauffeur.
What happens next
Both companies will continue spending. The regulators will continue deliberating. The drivers will continue driving, for now, which is the arrangement everyone finds most comfortable to maintain as a shared fiction for a little while longer.
The lobbying disclosures are public record. The cars are already on the road. The gap between those two facts is where the money goes.