• Wall Street interns face pressure for return offers as summer ends.
• Internships are crucial for securing full-time investment banking roles.
• Regina Savage of Morgan Stanley emphasizes seizing opportunities and knowing strengths.

With Wall Street summer internships in their final stretch, young bankers in training have a new concern: the return offer.

On Wall Street, internships are more than a summer gig. They're often the main gateway to full-time investment banking jobs — making the stakes especially high.

Regina Savage knows a thing or two about building a successful investment banking career. A managing director at Morgan Stanley — a top Wall Street bank and coveted destination for aspiring bankers — she played a key role in taking electric vehicle company Rivian public in 2021

Savage began her banking career at Goldman Sachs in Los Angeles, advising on media mergers and acquisitions, before moving to Morgan Stanley in 2009, where she has remained since. She now serves as global head of the firm's automotive and mobility technology group, focusing on electric and autonomous vehicles at a time when companies like Waymo and Tesla are making waves. Savage is also cohead of North America industrials within the investment bank, advising manufacturing and other industrial clients on M&A. She is based in Chicago.

In an effort to understand how young bankers can succeed in this competitive industry and put their best foot forward, Business Insider spoke with Savage, who has spent many years interacting with interns. She talked about the importance of seizing opportunities when they arise, understanding your own strengths and "superpowers" rather than trying to emulate others, and described the way lists help keep her organized.

Checking things off the list

As a managing director, Savage travels a lot to interface with clients. For her, early mornings are key to productivity.

"I think people have to know when they're most productive," she said. "I'm actually really ruthless and conscious of how I spend my time, and so as part of that, I know that I'm most productive in the morning."

When she's not on the road (or in the sky), she uses the first hour or two of her morning to get through the less fun, more administrative stuff.

"I tend to be up really early," she said. "I get myself ready and I get myself a coffee, log in, and I try to triage what came in overnight."

Lists are also a key part of her organization, Savage said.

"I also keep a running list of my priorities. And I reset that list every week, and look at that and make sure that I'm spending my time on what those are," she said.

The right attitude

When it comes to hiring young talent, Savage looks for curiosity, enthusiasm, and a genuine interest in the work, rather than just technical skills.

"I think it's really important that they have curiosity about the job and what it is that we're doing and why we're doing it. So it's not just about putting together a slide, but why are we pulling this slide together?" she said.

"You're only going to be successful at this job if you find it interesting," she said. "Seeing people who really do want to understand how it all fits together is important."

The attribute that the most successful interns and young hires tend to share is a good outlook and attitude.

"Attitude is well more than 50% of what makes somebody truly great at that level," she said. "We can teach you the skills you need."

Seizing opportunities

Savage didn't plan to become an expert in the automotive space. Not long after arriving at Morgan Stanley, the bank needed someone to help lead Chrysler's restructuring after its bankruptcy. Savage raised her hand.

"You don't know where the opportunities are going to be. You just have to be ready to grab them when they come," she said.

After spending about a year on that deal, she saw a "white space" in auto coverage and decided to focus on technology within the sector just as electric and autonomous vehicles were taking off. Aspiring bankers, take note.

"Being resilient and adaptable and, when you see an opportunity, jumping at it and with both hands, I think that's the number one piece of advice I would give."

Savage also warns not to dwell on "what could've been."

"There's no point in looking at closed doors or other paths that are closed to you. I feel like people worry that they missed something," she said. "Don't waste calories, energy, brainpower on regret."

Know your superpower

Savage advises young people trying to find their way in the industry to be really honest with themselves about their strengths and weaknesses.

"Know your superpower," she said. "I find people try to emulate others, but nobody is you."

She gave herself as an example: "There are some people who strut into a room and they just command the room immediately and ooze charisma — that's never going to be me. But I know what I am really good at. I'm really good at making connections and synthesizing information and being able to see patterns across different things," Savage said.

Savage suggests starting by looking for people you admire who have similar strengths as you and at what they've done. This advice is particular important for young women, she said.

"It's a lot less likely that there's another woman that you're working with that has a similar skillset to you that you can emulate. So being able to take little bits from everybody that you meet that you think is successful, and seeing how that works with your style, is really important."

• Waymo on Thursday announced a service area expansion in Austin.
• The move came a few days after Tesla showed off an expanded phallic-shaped geofence.
• Robotaxi fans will find that the service area expansions come with a few limitations.

Tesla and Waymo seem to be duking it out over who has the bigger size — and size in this case refers to the companies' respective robotaxi boundaries in Austin.

Waymo has been offering self-driving rides to the general public for a few months, and Tesla has been testing out rides to a limited number of invitees last month.

Three days after Tesla showed off an expanded, phallic-shaped geofence in Austin, Waymo on Thursday said that it has more than doubled its service area in the city from about 37 square miles to 90 square miles.

The coverage area includes new neighborhoods such as Crestview, Windsor Park, Sunset Valley, Franklin Park, and more, according to Waymo.

Lovers of robotaxis might have to temper Tesla's and Waymo's ability to please — for now.

For Tesla, unless you're one of the handful of people who received an invite from the company or know someone who got an invite, you'll have to wait until the company opens the service up to the broader public.

It's unclear when that will happen. Tesla's latest announcement of the service area expansion didn't mention whether the company was adding more robotaxis on the road or inviting more passengers.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has pledged that the robotaxi service will ramp up quickly.

A Tesla spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Waymo said that the service area expansion will allow more people in Austin to experience a fully autonomous ride.

However, the service is only available through the Uber app, which does not allow users to request a robotaxi. Users can only opt in for the option. This means the app will decide to pair users up with a human driver or a robotaxi, depending on what's available first or what's more time-efficient.

When trying to hail a Waymo in Downtown Austin on Thursday, Business Insider found in repeated tests that Uber will pair users with a human driver when the destination calls for going on the 35 highway or MoPac Expressway.

Waymo currently doesn't take public passengers on the highway.

Chris Bonelli, a spokesperson for Waymo, told BI in an email that a rider will likely be matched with an Uber driver if a more optimal route requires going on the freeway.

Waymo employees are currently taking fully autonomous freeway rides in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, Bonelli said.

When Business Insider set a closer destination that doesn't require a highway or toll, Uber immediately suggested a Waymo.

A spokesperson for Uber did not respond to a request for comment.

The robotaxi company Waymo has suspended service in some parts of Los Angeles after some of its vehicles were summoned and then vandalized by protesters angry with ongoing raids by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Five of Waymo's autonomous Jaguar I-Pace electric vehicles were summoned downtown to the site of anti-ICE protests, at which point they were vandalized with slashed tires and spray-painted messages. Three were set on fire.

The Los Angeles Police Department warned people to avoid the area due to risks from toxic gases given off by burning EVs. And Waymo told Ars that it is "in touch with law enforcement" regarding the matter.

The protesters in Los Angeles were outraged after ICE, using brutal tactics, began detaining people in raids across the city. Thousands of Angelenos took to the streets over the weekend to confront the masked federal enforcers and, in some cases, forced them away.

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• Five Waymo vehicles were set on fire during protests in LA about Trump's immigration crackdown.
• The company suspended service in downtown LA, a spokesperson confirmed to BI.
• Waymo doesn't think the vehicles were intentionally targeted and is working with the LAPD.

Waymo suspended robotaxi service in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday after five vehicles were set on fire during protests against President Donald Trump's immigration raids in the city.

Photos show Waymo cars covered in anti-ICE graffiti burning in the street, engulfed in smoke.

A spokesperson for Waymo confirmed to Business Insider that five vehicles had been vandalized during the protests. The company temporarily suspended service in downtown LA and doesn't think its vehicles were intentionally targeted, the spokesperson said. Waymo is working with the Los Angeles Police Department, they added.

On Sunday night, the LAPD said on X that "burning lithium-ion batteries release toxic gases." Electric vehicles often use lithium-ion batteries.

The spokesperson told BI that Waymo, which Alphabet owns, operates more than 300 vehicles in LA and is continuing operations in other parts of the city.

It's not the first time that Waymo vehicles have been targeted in California. Last year, a crowd in San Francisco set one of the robotaxis on fire during Lunar New Year celebrations amid a wave of distrust about driverless vehicles.

The protests broke out on Friday after an immigration raid in the city. Over the weekend, Trump bypassed California Gov. Gavin Newsom's authority and ordered 2,000 National Guard members to the LA area. Despite the dramatic images, the protests have largely been peaceful, according to multiple reports.

The demonstrations have become a political lightning rod between Newsom and Trump, and the governor has announced that he's suing the administration. They may, however, serve as an olive branch between the president and Elon Musk, who had an ugly falling out last week.

Waymo said it recently received its last delivery of Jaguar I-Pace SUVs, which will be retrofitted with sensors and autonomous driving technology at its factory in Arizona, before joining its robotaxi fleet.

In a blog post published today, the Alphabet company said it currently has 1,500 Jaguars operating across its four main markets: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin. And it plans on adding 2,000 more vehicles into 2026, for a total fleet size of 3,500. The company recently hit an average of 250,000 paid passenger trips per week.

Waymo typically doesn’t like to comment on the size of its fleet, so today’s announcement provides a rare glimpse into the number of robotaxis the company currently has in operation. Waymo’s plans to scale up comes as the company eyes Atlanta, Miami, and Washington, DC for launch in 2026.

The Jaguar I-Pace has been the company’s primary vehicle since Waymo retired its fleet of Chrysler Pacifica minivans in 2023. The company had once projected it would have 20,000 I-Paces operating as robotaxis, but appears to have fallen significantly short of that goal. Waymo is also currently testing and validating two new models, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and the all-electric Zeekr RT minivan, but has yet to say when they will join the fleet.

Waymo assembles its robotaxis with the help of auto engineering company Magna International at a 239,000 square-foot factory in Mesa, Arizona. The company’s final batch of Jaguar I-Paces will be assembled there, which should carry Waymo through to next year. And starting in 2026, Waymo will begin work on its sixth generation “Waymo Driver,” which will launch in the Zeekr RT. Zeekr is a subsidiary of Geely, which is one of China’s largest automakers.

The new robotaxi is being designed in Sweden (where Geely owns Swedish carmaker Volvo), adapted from Geely’s all-electric five-door Zeekr. Waymo is then importing the vehicles to Arizona, where they will be outfitted with the hardware and software necessary for autonomous driving. The first test vehicles began arriving in the US last year.

In order to adapt to multiple vehicle platforms, Waymo says its Mesa factory will add automated assembly lines and “other efficiencies” over time. And when it’s operating at full capacity, the company expects it will be able to churn out “tens of thousands” of robotaxis each year. Waymo added new processes at the end of the assembly line for passenger validation and commission to ensure each vehicle is ready to accept riders as soon as it leaves the factory. Each vehicle drives itself into service after leaving the factory, where it is ready for passenger pickups within 30 minutes, according to Waymo spokesperson Chris Bonelli.

Waymo’s interest in publicizing its plans to grow its fleet size comes as Tesla plans to launch its own robotaxi service in Texas and California later this year. And it aligns with the Alphabet company’s recent announcement of a partnership with Toyota to explore the possibilities of selling autonomous vehicles to customers for personal ownership.

• Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi revealed that he drives a Tesla.
• "Great car," Khosrowshahi said while praising the vehicle's self-driving capabilities.
• As for his company, Khosrowshahi isn't worried about Tesla robotaxis.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said on Friday that he isn't sweating Elon Musk's robotaxis.

"I don't think that there will be a winner-take-all," Khosrowshahi told Semafor editor-in-chief Ben Smith during the publication's World Economic Summit in Washington.

"The drama is winner-take-all, but I think that the transportation industry is a trillion-plus-dollar industry," he said. "You could argue that rideshare is going to finally beat personal car ownership in a world where you've got robots driving all over the place, so I think there will be plenty of room in the industry."

Khosrowshahi said Uber would "love to work with" Musk's company. He also revealed that he owns a Tesla.

"Great car," Khosrowshahi said.

Asked if he has tried full self-driving, Khosrowshahi responded, "It is delightful, but I have to take over every once in a while. It is an absolutely great product. Again, the car is a terrific car."

Musk isn't playing as nicely with his competitors in the autonomous taxi space. Earlier this week, Musk took a shot at Waymo during Tesla's Q1 earnings call.

Musk said the problem with Alphabet's robotaxis is that they cost "way mo' money."

Waymo's ex-CEO brushed off the insult.

"Tesla has never competed with Waymo — they've never sold a robotaxi ride to a public rider, but they've sold a lot of cars," John Krafcik said in an email to Business Insider.

Uber and Waymo are partnering on autonomous ride-hailing in Austin and Atlanta. Tesla is aiming to roll out a "pilot" robotaxi service in Austin in June.