A July study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that Waymo’s self-driving vehicles posted a crash rate 68% lower than human drivers across San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Austin. The comparison used 222 billion miles of human driving against 50 million miles logged by Waymo. On an injury-crash basis, Waymo’s rate was 81% lower. The report also stressed that the comparison is far from clean. Researchers said human crashes are often underreported, while Waymo must report even minor incidents to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Operating conditions also differ: Waymo currently runs in a limited number of cities and mostly in favorable weather, while human drivers cover a much broader mix of roads and conditions. IIHS statistics services director Eric Teoh described the findings as encouraging for the future of autonomous vehicles, while warning that crash reporting and data collection systems still need work. The article also pointed to broader public health arguments around road safety, citing World Health Organization figures showing about 1.16 million road deaths globally each year and roughly 40,000 in the United States.

Tesla remains a leader in EV innovation, but reliability varies widely by model. Model 3 stands out, Model Y is improving, while Model S and Model X face more complaints over electronics and build quality.