A ride in Waymo’s driverless minivan is awe-inspiring, but also a reminder of how industry hype has skewed our expectations for self-driving cars.

Why it matters: Waymo is the first company to deploy automated vehicles on public roads without anyone behind the wheel, but all that means is they’ve crossed the starting line in the self-driving race.

Like every other AV developer, Waymo still has to win the public’s trust, and make a business of it, neither of which will be easy.
What’s happening: Waymo is plotting two commercial offerings: Waymo One, its fledgling automated ride-hailing service currently confined to the Phoenix suburbs, and a soon-to-be-named automated trucking business.
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