I thought that Waymo is 'almost' a robotaxi - in the sense that there is a remote operator that takes over when the car is stuck or it's getting dangerous. I think Cruise revealed the numbers about the % of time an operator takes over and it was surprisingly high - one intervention every 2.5-5 miles.
it doesn't matter what the back end looks like. even if it's all just a call center in the Philippines driving the cars with playstation controllers, on the customer end, there's an app, and it summons a car with no driver in it, and it takes me to my destination.
Their profitability relies on just how much that call center needs to get paid, so it's in their interests to drive that down, and have it be real, but that's their business. As a customer, all I know is that there's a competitor to Uber/Lyft called Waymo, and it's better and worse in specific ways.
No driver means no having to deal with a person. If I'm sending a girlfriend home late at night, she doesn't need to get into a strangers car. the driver could be drinking or hit on her or whatever. robo taxi isn't going to do that, even if it's a call center in the Philippines.
Ok, that's not what I call a 'real' Robotaxi. If the operator needs to intervene maybe once per 100 miles then I would consider we're close.
Re profitability - yes, but if there is more than one companies, they will just drive down the margins. I don't see how it will generate billions frankly.
I think we will get to robotaxis one day, most probably. I'm not sure though about the earnings power this will give to those companies.