Hit by a Waymo or Tesla Robotaxi: Who Is Liable?

Who can be responsible

Depending on the facts and your state, the list can include:

• The fleet operator, the company running the robotaxi service, such as Waymo or Tesla
• The vehicle manufacturer
• The company behind the self-driving software, which may or may not be the operator
• The app you booked through. Waymo rides can be booked through Uber in some cities, and Waymo has partnered with Lyft in Nashville.
• Parts suppliers, if a sensor or component failed
• The maintenance provider
• Remote assistance staff, if a human was helping the car at the time
• Another human driver, who may still be the one at fault

Being on that list doesn’t make a company liable. The legal claim has to match what actually went wrong.

Negligence becomes product liability

In an ordinary accident, the question is whether a driver was careless: speeding, distracted, ran a light. With no driver, claims tend to shift toward product liability. Was the software or the vehicle defective, and did that defect cause the accident?

That changes the case in real ways:

• The evidence is technical. Sensor data, software logs, camera footage and remote-assistance records.
• The operator holds most of it. Usually you can’t get it without a formal request or legal process.
• Expert analysis matters more. Someone has to explain what the system saw and why it did what it did.

No state has a comprehensive law deciding who pays when a fully driverless car causes an accident. As of early November 2026, bills in California and elsewhere hadn’t become law. Liability still runs through each state’s existing negligence and product-liability rules.

Where robotaxis operate now

The map changes fast. As of mid-November 2026:

• Waymo runs fully driverless public service in more than ten U.S. metros, including Phoenix, the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Austin, Atlanta, Miami, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Orlando and Nashville. In July 2026 it began driverless operations in Las Vegas, with San Diego, Tampa and Denver following.
• Tesla runs unsupervised robotaxi service in eight cities: Austin, Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth and San Antonio in Texas, and Miami, Orlando and Tampa in Florida. San Antonio launched November 9, 2026. Tesla’s Bay Area service uses a safety driver.

A safety driver changes the analysis. If a human was in the driver’s seat and responsible for taking over, that person’s conduct is back in the case alongside the technology.

Federal oversight doesn’t decide your claim

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) requires robotaxi companies to report qualifying incidents, and it investigates possible defects. Those records can help a case, but a federal report isn’t a finding of fault.

Here’s what that looks like in practice. On November 6, 2026, NHTSA opened a recall query into 2,895 Waymo vehicles. Waymo’s December 2025 software recall was supposed to stop its vehicles from passing stopped school buses, and NHTSA found that most of the reported incidents happened after the fix was finished. A recall query checks whether a completed recall worked. It doesn’t order a new one. NHTSA and the National Transportation Safety Board are also investigating a January 2026 incident in which a Waymo vehicle struck a child near a Santa Monica elementary school.

Investigations like these can show a pattern. Whether a pattern helps your own case depends on the facts of your accident.

Passenger, pedestrian or other driver: what changes

If you were a passenger in the robotaxi, you have a ride record in the app showing the time, route and vehicle. Read the terms of service for the app you booked through. Rideshare terms often include arbitration clauses, and those can affect where and how a claim is heard.

If you were walking or biking, you probably never agreed to any app’s terms. Get photos of the vehicle, including its roof sensors and any fleet number on the body, along with the location and the time. A 2025 lawsuit in San Francisco alleges a Waymo passenger opened a door into a cyclist and that the car’s exit warning failed. The case shows that dooring claims can involve the technology too.

If you were driving another car, your own insurer will want to know which company operated the robotaxi. Photograph the vehicle and any markings before it drives away. It may leave on its own.

Evidence: move fast

Robotaxis record a lot, but the operator controls the records. Ask for them early:

1. Photograph the vehicle, including markings, plate, fleet number and sensors.
2. Save your ride record from the app if you were a passenger.
3. Get witness names and phone numbers. With no driver, witnesses carry more weight.
4. Get a police report. Some states now let police cite driverless vehicles. Tennessee passed a law allowing Nashville police to ticket them.
5. Have a lawyer send a preservation letter. Sensor data, logs and video can be overwritten. A written demand to preserve them should go out quickly.

Insurance still exists

Driverless doesn’t mean uninsured. Robotaxi operators carry commercial insurance, and states regulate it. California, for example, regulates robotaxi passenger service through the CPUC, including insurance and incident-reporting conditions. Which policy applies can depend on who owned the vehicle, who operated the service and where the accident happened. Your own auto policy, PIP or uninsured motorist coverage may also come into play while fault is sorted out.

FAQs

Can I sue Waymo if a Waymo hit me?

Yes, you can bring a claim. Whether Waymo, a manufacturer, a supplier or another driver is legally responsible depends on what caused the accident and on your state’s law.

I booked a Waymo through the Uber app. Who’s responsible?

Possibly more than one company. In those cities, Uber handles parts of dispatch and fleet management while Waymo runs the self-driving system. Which company is responsible depends on what failed.

Is a Tesla robotaxi treated the same as a Tesla on Autopilot?

No. A private Tesla on Autopilot or Full Self-Driving has a human driver who’s expected to pay attention. A driverless robotaxi has no driver. That pushes claims toward the operator and the technology.

How do I get the robotaxi’s video and sensor data?

Usually through a formal request or legal process, since the operator controls it. Send a written demand to preserve the data quickly, before routine overwriting can erase it.

Do I have less time to file a robotaxi claim?

The deadline to sue comes from your state’s law, generally the same as for other injury claims. Product-liability claims can have their own rules in some states, so check early.

Find your state’s rules

Robotaxis are concentrated in a few states. See California, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Nevada or Tennessee, or start from the state index.

Sources and limits

Service areas, investigations and company statements are described as of the date above. Robotaxi coverage areas change monthly.

• Reuters — US opens probe into 2,895 Waymo vehicles over school bus safety violations (Nov. 9, 2026)
• NHTSA — PE25013 investigation resume (PDF)
• TechCrunch — Tesla expands robotaxi service to San Antonio (Nov. 9, 2026)
• Waymo — Updates
• Waymo blog — Driverless operations in four new cities (July 8, 2026)
• BNO News — Robotaxi liability analysis (Nov. 2, 2026)
• Vanderbilt Law — Who’s liable when a Waymo hits you?
• Hanki v. Waymo LLC complaint (S.F. Super. Ct., June 2025) (PDF)
• Fox 17 Nashville — New Tennessee law lets police ticket driverless cars

Allegations in lawsuits are claims, not findings. This is general information, not legal advice, and RideClaim.co is not a law firm.