Episode 299 | Autonomy Markets: Waymo’s Recall, Tesla’s NHTSA Scrutiny, and Sterling Anderson’s Surprise Move

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This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss Waymo’s recall, Tesla’s most recent NHTSA letter and Sterling Anderson’s surprise move to join GM as EVP & Chief Product Officer.

For the first time ever, Waymo had a fleet-wide recall after a series of minor collisions involving stationary objects, a recall that was fixed with a simple over-the-air update. As Waymo updated their vehicles, Tesla was once again under regulatory scrutiny, this time about their upcoming FSD Unsupervised launch in Austin.

Could NHTSA’s request for more information, give Elon Musk and Tesla an off-ramp as they work to further develop FSD prior to deploying fully autonomous robotaxis.

In an unexpected twist, former Aurora co-founder Sterling Anderson joined GM as EVP & Chief Product Officer. His move to GM signals a potential major strategic shift for GM, especially in the wake of its decision to shutdown Cruise.

With Mr. Anderson’s background in autonomy, software-defined vehicles, and hardware integration from his time at Tesla and Aurora, the hire suggests GM may be quietly rebuilding its autonomy strategy. Whether this positions him as a future CEO candidate or simply as the architect of GM’s next-generation vehicle roadmap, it’s a development that we will be following on Autonomy Markets.

Episode Chapters

0:00 Sterling Anderson Joins GM

3:34 The Impact of Sterling’s Departure on Aurora

5:53 Uber’s Autonomy Investments

7:16 Aurora, a Company in Crisis

13:04 Kodiak

15:30 Bot Auto

17:45 Wayve / Uber Partnership

21:58 WeRide’s Hong Kong IPO

22:46 Waymo’s Lingering Zeekr Problem

25:27 Waymo’s NHTSA Recall

27:18 Waymo Road Trips

28:47 Is Waymo Expanding Too Quickly?

30:10 Could NHTSA Delay Tesla’s June Robotaxi Launch?

33:38 Market Perception of Tesla FSD

36:29 Unforced Error of The Week

38:40 Next Week

Recorded on Thursday, May 15, 2025

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