This Week in the Autonomy Economy, no simply means not now for Ferrari, Uber continued its autonomous expansion into Europe, and Avride surpassed 60,000 rides on Uber in Dallas.

Uber’s expansion into Europe signals the company’s deep continental autonomous ambitions, with Waymo presumably not far behind. If and when Waymo expands into Europe, it will be fascinating to see how they compete outside of the U.S. and soon-to-be U.K. markets.

Will European citizens opt for the consistency of Waymo, or will they choose to play Russian roulette with Uber and see what type of vehicle they get paired with? No matter which robotaxi provider European consumers choose, the looming overhang of the strict EU regulatory environment will remain and the winner will be whoever maneuvers through it more swiftly.

As Uber gets more aggressive in the U.S. by using policy as a tool to try and slow down the rollout of autonomous vehicles with no safety drivers, will that same strategy carry over to Europe? Whether it does or not, it is a critical dynamic to watch as Europe emerges as the next great robotaxi battleground.

WHAT’S MOVING THE MARKETS | PERSONALLY-OWNED AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES

When Ferrari Says Never, They Simply Mean Not Now

Ferrari is not a car company. Ferrari is a brand. The company sells roughly 13,000 vehicles a year, but millions of Ferrari hats are sold each year. Hats, along with sponsorships, commercial, and brand revenues accounted for 11.5% (€820 million) of Ferrari’s revenue in 2025, growing 22% year-over-year.

While this pales in comparison to the €6.005 billion the company made from selling actual Ferraris, it does highlight an important aspect that is often overlooked; Ferrari’s demographic is changing. In fact, 40% of all new Ferrari buyers are now under 40, up from 30% in 2023. What is driving this?

The four-door Purosangue SUV, which retails for $429,000.

Back in 2016, then-Ferrari Chairman Sergio Marchionne said, “you have to shoot me first” before the company would ever make an SUV. Then in September 2022, six years later, Ferrari unveiled the Purosangue.

Today, the Purosangue accounts for roughly 20% of sales, capped by the company to retain the exclusivity of the product. First, it was a hard no, and now it’s roughly 20% of sales.

That same year, Mr. Marchionne, known for his direct and blunt demeanor did not hold back when asked at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2016 if Ferrari would ever build an all-electric vehicle. In his typical fashion, he shot back; "With Ferrari, it's almost an obscene concept."

That comment either aged well or did not, depending on who you ask, as Ferrari’s first all-electric car, the Luce, co-designed by Sir Jony Ive and Marc Newson has been met with a wide array of emotions. No matter the reception, Ferrari said no once again, and yet they did the exact opposite.

First, it was no to an SUV. Then it was no to an all-electric Ferrari. And now, it’s no to an autonomous Ferrari.

Current CEO Benedetto Vigna recently said; “We will not make fully autonomous cars, loud and clear. We want the people to have fun, not the [computer] chips. We want to have a steering wheel and a man or a woman behind the steering wheel. Otherwise, why do you buy a Ferrari?”

Why would you want to buy an autonomous Ferrari? It is a status symbol and an experience. The future of autonomy will not be defined by who has the best technology; it will be defined by who has the best experience.

A $600,000 personally-owned Ferrari is an experience, and yes, there are people who will buy them. Just like there are people who take their Ferraris to the grocery store, simply because they can.

And yes, at some point, Ferrari will go 3 for 3. First it was no to an SUV, then an all-electric, and now autonomous. And guess what? At some point, Ferrari will say yes and produce an autonomous Ferrari.

Our Take: An autonomous Ferrari will be more profitable for the company than today’s traditional Ferrari, which already commands an average operating profit of $167,000 per vehicle.

With a six-figure profit margin in hand and the ability to charge for an Autonomous Ferrari Virtual Driver to drive their customers around in their $600,000 personally owned Ferrari, autonomy just became highly profitable, and for Ferrari, the brand was once again reimagined as times change.

Companies Mentioned: $RACE ( ▼ 0.63% )  

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PIQUING OUR INTEREST

Waymo’s New 100,000 Square-Foot Tampa Depot All signs point to Waymo getting closer to launching commercial service in Tampa, as Waymo recently signed a lease for a 100,698-square-foot warehouse near the airport.

Tesla Eyes Sin City Expansion Tesla has filed an application with the Nevada Transportation Authority for an Autonomous Vehicle Network Company Permit within Clark County, Nevada, including Harry Reid International Airport and Henderson Executive Airport. If approved, Tesla will soon be able to operate Robotaxis in Sin City.

WeRide and Uber to Launch Robotaxis to Madrid WeRide and Uber are planning to launch a robotaxi pilot in Madrid later this year, with Avomo providing fleet managment services.

Autobrains and Uber to Launch Robotaxis in Munich Autobrains and Uber are planning to launch a robotaxi service in Munich, pending reguatory approval.

Serve Robotics Expands into Autonomous Laundry Delivery Serve Robotics has begun delivering laundry on-demand in Los Angeles.

📰 Follow @RoadToAutonomy on X for our latest thoughts and insights on the autonomy economy.

SOCIAL BUZZ | ROBOTAXIS

60,000 Autonomous Rides and Counting

Avride continues to scale in Dallas on Uber, surpassing 60,000 rides since service launched. Now the question becomes, with a fleet of over 200 vehicles in the Dallas market, how many human driven vehicles operated on the Uber network during that timeframe and how many rides did they complete?

Our take: Now it's time to compare the numbers. Uber, how many human driven rides occurred during this period, and what was the average number of times someone had to order and cancel to get paired with an Avride?

Companies Mentioned: $NBIS ( ▼ 1.48% ) 

THE ROAD TO AUTONOMY PODCAST

From Tracking Terrorists to Tracking Trucks: How a Former CIA Officer Built the Ground Truth Layer

(June 2, 2026) Ryan Joyce, Co-Founder and CEO, GenLogs joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss how the intelligence community’s playbook is being applied to trucking, building a ground truth layer for freight.

Watch on YouTube | Spotify | X

AUTONOMY SIGNALS PODCAST

Uber's Europe Strategy, FedEx Freight Flips the Script, Undersea Autonomy Accelerates

(June 4, 2026) This week on Autonomy Signals presented by KPMG, Grayson Brulte and Rob Grant discuss Uber's OEM-agnostic robotaxi strategy in Europe, FedEx Freight CEO's declaration that autonomous trucks are ready for prime time, and the AUKUS alliance accelerating undersea autonomy.

Watch on YouTube | Spotify | X

AUTONOMY MARKETS PODCAST

WeRide Is Catching Up to Waymo Globally

(June 6, 2026) This week on Autonomy Markets, Grayson Brulte and Walter Piecyk discuss WeRide trying to catch up to Waymo globally, Waymo preparing to deploy Chinese-made robotaxis in Texas and the CEO of FedEx Freight's open embracement of autonomous trucking.

Watch on YouTube | Spotify | X

THE ROAD TO AUTONOMY IN THE NEWS

Inside Uber’s strategy to avoid a head-on collision with autonomous cars - Fast Company

We took the less diplomatic position in this Fast Company interview and shared our view on the current state of the Waymo/Uber relationship.

Read the full article in Fast Company