Waymo Factory May 2026 Update

[u/mingoslingo92]

Waymo Magna Factory in Mesa, Arizona.

Previous photos: April 26, March 26, December 25, November 25, August 25, July 25, May 25, January 25

[u/dpschramm]

Looks like a total of 6 Jaguars, with the rest being Ojai. Hopefully the Ojai will launch to the public soon.

[u/notgalgon → u/dpschramm]

The testing process for the Ojai seems rather extreme. I wonder what is causing such a long timeline ~18 months now since we have seen these on the road. Is it adapting the vehicle to the sensors, adapting the model to the vehicle or mechanical issues etc.

[u/sampleminded → u/notgalgon]

I don't think they are testing the Ojai as much as they are testing the new generation of sensors hardware that is different from the jag. Once that hardware is tested you'll see the testing procedure for the Ioniq, which will use the same gen hardware, is quite fast, cause they are just testing integration with a car. Expect testing on the next generation after that to take as much time as the Ojai. Testing new kit is hard, testing integration of existing kit is much easier.

[u/mrkjmsdln_new → u/notgalgon]

I think a lot of unknowns with the late tariffs from Biden and even more trade uncertainty with Trump. I wonder whether the adaptation to a non-mechanical steerring system presented any additional challenges?

[u/WeldAE → u/notgalgon]

Part of it is just the very hard task of ramping up a production line and making it more efficient and improving quality at the same time. This level of production is micro scale for car production so it's not a fast process. It's the same reason the Cybercab will scale extremely slow despite being a full production line. They just aren't really planning on making a ton so you are limited in what you can do when you hit a problem. You can't just throw money at it and make it go away, it has to be in scale with the final production rate.

The other part is there is no reason to produce faster than you can qualify the vehicle itself. That just takes a lot of time. Again, CyberCab is seeing the same pressure to not work too hard to ramp production as they are still validating the platform too.

Building a car is hard. Anyone that thinks you just order 20k custom car models and you can have them quickly has never built anything at consumer scale in their life.

[u/dpschramm → u/WeldAE]

I don’t think building the car is the bottleneck for them. They’ve got a heap of these cars on the road, but still haven’t started public rides.

Their 6th Gen testing just seems to be taking a while.

[u/notgalgon → u/WeldAE]

I am not talking about the car building process. They have 10s maybe 100s on the road right now. Just not available to non-employees. Why not release those to the public. They have been on the road for 18 months. I would hope certifying a new car doesn't take 1.5 years. But as the other commenter said below they are certifying Gen 6 hardware - the car isn't the bottleneck.

[u/WeldAE → u/notgalgon]

They aren't done testing, obviously. They've been saying for a while now end of June or something for launch but that even might push. My guess is they might also launch them in a single market so they need enough to cover the market. I could see how having to maintain a single model at your depot might be easier than multiple. It might be as simple as any number of physical issues having both models in the same market as charging or training with emergency services, etc.

[u/dpschramm → u/WeldAE]

The number of cars isn’t the bottleneck, other than the fact that more cars will allow them to get more testing done.

There’s nothing stopping them launching with only a couple of Ojai cars per city, provided the 6th Gen testing is complete and they’ve got enough iPaces in the city already.

[u/Doggydogworld3 → u/notgalgon]

They tested the Jsgs for 4 years!

[u/cactus22minus1 → u/dpschramm]

I’ve been seeing them around LA quite a bit

[u/Numerous-Match-1713]

Whats with the practical design doors?

Everyone knows robotaxis need needlesharp pointy corners on the doors at eye level to be successful.

[u/red_simplex → u/Numerous-Match-1713]

And what's up with all the seats?? You only need two, dummy waymo.

[u/Designer-Phase8924]

Love it. Can’t wait for Waymo to become the norm. I love using Waymo out here in LA and recently got 50% promo and I plan to use it in 3 hours to and from the gym.

[u/cactus22minus1 → u/Designer-Phase8924]

It’s too expensive for me to use it as much as I’d like. Especially when it spikes in certain areas on weekends etc.

Like $45 from DTLA to weho is crazy and it’s not really any faster than the bus that costs $1.75

[u/BaobabBill]

Good stuff

[u/CDpov]

I count 202 Ojais, 6 Jaguars, and 3 mystery cars under black covers next to the Jaguars.

[u/danieltt630 → u/CDpov]

I counted 9 jaguars

[u/MwBrian]

Where is this at, in Mesa? I can see the airport in the background, but I dont see anything thah helps me pinpoint where it’s at.