Andrew J. Hawkins

Transportation editor

Andrew is transportation editor at The Verge, He covers electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft, public transit, policy, infrastructure, electric bikes, and the physical act of moving through space and time. Prior to this, he wrote about politics at City & State, Crain’s New York Business and the New York Daily News. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, two kids, and many different brands of peanut butter.

Andrew J. HawkinsSep 4

Here’s what it’s like to ride in a Tesla Cybercab.

Some of the pro-Tesla content creators that the company invited to its closed-door Cybercab event are starting to post their first rides.

Tesla and SpaceX investor Sawyer Merritt posted his first ride on X.
Herbert Ong said the weirdest part is “how normal it feels.”
Chuck Cook describes it like “getting into a first class seat on an airplane.”
And YouTuber David Moss took his blind father for his first ride, specifically to highlight what driverless cars could mean for people with visual impairments.

Tesla Cybercab is barely on the road and it’s already under investigation

Andrew J. HawkinsSep 4

The unusually muted Tesla Cybercab launch

Andrew J. HawkinsSep 4

Andrew J. HawkinsSep 3

Tesla isn’t livestreaming its Cybercab event.

Right now, Tesla is holding a private event with a bunch of pro-Tesla influencers to celebrate the “launch” of its autonomous Cybercab vehicle. But in a break from the past, the company is not livestreaming the event. Several influencers posted on X that the company made them sign NDAs and barred them from posting any content until the event is over. Not really the sign of confidence a lot of investors were looking for!

Andrew J. HawkinsSep 3

Pro-natalist Elon Musk bans kids from riding in the Tesla Cybercab.

According to the company’s newly launched Robotaxi website, children under the age of 13 are not permitted to ride in the Cybercab — even if they’re riding with an adult. Kids between the ages of 8-13 are allowed in Tesla’s Model Y robotaxis, but only when riding with an adult. And those under 8 are not allowed at all. Even stranger, the Cybercab’s compliance documents (PDF) include detailed instructions for installing child seats. Which is it, Elon?

Image: Tesla

Andrew J. HawkinsSep 3

Happy Tesla Cybercab day — right?

We still have no word on when this supposed event is taking place. All we know is that it’s in Austin, which predictably has seen a surge of gilded Cybercabs hit the streets. Reuters says it’s supposed to start at 5:45PM ET, citing a Cybercab engineer’s tweet that I can’t seem to verify. Either way, we’ll be monitoring the event and will hopefully have more updates to share later today.

Elon Musk’s robotaxi heterodoxy gets put to the test

Andrew J. Hawkins

Sep 2

Uber beats Waymo to launching robotaxis in London

Andrew J. HawkinsSep 2

Waymo is a magnet for parking tickets.

The robotaxi company has accrued more than 8,300 violations in San Francisco since January 2025, according to records obtained by Gazetteer. On average, that’s about 103 tickets a week. Most of the violations appear to be for parking in locations reserved for tour buses, obstructing traffic, or blocking bike lanes.

Waymo has been slapped with more than 8,300 parking tickets since January 2025

[Gazetteer]

Andrew J. HawkinsSep 2

Who leaves a pig head in the back of a Waymo?

Scratch that: who leaves two pig heads in the back of a Waymo? Throw-up, leftover joints, even the occasional doo-doo — I can understand how some of these things can be left behind for the robotaxi cleaner. But pig heads?

Cleaning Up Poop: The Human Labor Behind Waymo

[Bay Area Current]

Andrew J. HawkinsSep 2

Zoox goes to the airport.

The Amazon-owned robotaxi company was just approved to make passenger trips to and from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. Airports can be chaotic environments, and regulators want to be sure that robotaxis won’t add to the chaos. As the first robotaxi company approved for airport trips, Zoox will have its work cut out for it.