Lyft announced plans on Monday to debut driverless robotaxis in Dallas by 2026 using Mobileye technology. The ride-hailing service will integrate vehicles owned by Marubeni and managed through its Flex Drive subsidiary. The move is set to disrupt the industry amid rising regulatory and public concern, experts foresee widespread adoption.
A statement from Lyft’s chief executive indicated that the ride-hailing business aims to introduce a completely autonomous robotaxi in one American city before the end of the year.
According to a post by Lyft CEO David Risher on X, the firm is preparing to introduce fully autonomous robotaxis in Dallas, Texas, “as soon as 2026,” with support from Mobileye technology. The CEO also mentioned that Marubeni, a Japanese corporation, will use its Flex Drive subsidiary for fleet management and that it will buy and own the Mobileye vehicles.
“As soon as 2026, Marubeni-owned cars with Mobileye AV tech will launch in Dallas on the Lyft platform, with thousands more AVs/other cities to follow,” Risher wrote in the post.
The Lyft app will start to display the vehicles for riders once the rollout is complete, and according to Risher, the firm will be sharing further updates in the coming months.
The announcement follows Tesla’s recent unveiling of the Cybercab, which will use its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software to join the growing commercial robotaxi market, Teslarati shares. The first unsupervised versions of the FSD software will be deployed in Austin, Texas, in June, according to Elon Musk and Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla’s head of design. This follows the October debut of the company’s steering wheel-less Cybercab.
Musk has also stated his intention to deploy autonomous ride-hailing in “many cities in America by the end of this year,” going back to his earlier statement about the launch in Austin. Musk shared on October’s Q3 earnings call that Tesla workers had begun piloting ride-hailing services in the Bay Area, enabling them to hail a cab and be whisked away to any location in the Bay.
Waymo, a robotaxi firm owned by Alphabet, will launch its autonomous ride-hailing vehicles in Austin next month. These vehicles will be hosted only on Uber’s mobile network, a competitor to Lyft. Paid driverless rides are already available in Phoenix, Arizona, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, California, via the company’s Waymo One app. In 2025, the business plans to expand to Miami, Florida, along with more than ten additional cities.
While Waymo is the only firm providing completely autonomous paid ride-hailing at the moment, other companies like Amazon-owned Zoox plan to provide robotaxis throughout the year.
Luis Gochoco is a seasoned managing editor and writer with over a decade of experience covering politics, technology, gaming, and entertainment news. With a keen eye for breaking stories and in-depth analysis, he has established himself as a trusted voice in digital journalism. Luis is one of the key forces behind the success of GameNGuide, contributing to 12 million views through engaging and high-traffic content. He also played a pivotal role in generating 8 million views on International Business Times, shaping the platform’s technology and gaming coverage.
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