Alphabet’s (GOOG) Waymo applies for final permit to sell autonomous rides in California

Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) announced Tuesday that the company’s autonomous driving technology company, Waymo has applied for the final permit it needs in California before it can sell fully autonomous rides. A decision on the application could take months.

Currently, General Motors’ (NYSE: GM) Cruise company has the only permit so far and has charged for driverless rides in San Francisco since June.

Andrew Chatham, a software engineer at Waymo, said the company had updated software that controls braking and accelerating to cut jitters and overall had exceeded on goals this year related to driving behavior. The company has made its autonomous driving more "assertive," Chatham said.

Shares of GOOG are up 2.44% in mid-day trading on Tuesday.

By Michael Elkins | [email protected]

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