The autonomous vehicle industry just had its Wizard of Oz moment. Senate testimony has revealed that Waymo, the poster child for self-driving cars and arguably the most advanced robotaxi service in operation, uses remote assistants based in the Philippines to help their vehicles navigate tricky situations.Waymo insists these aren't "drivers." The company's position is that remote assistants provide high-level guidance—like suggesting a different route when a car encounters an unexpected road closure—but don't actually control the vehicle. The car still makes all the driving decisions, they say. It's just getting... help. From humans. Thousands of miles away.This is the autonomous vehicle industry's dirty secret finally going public. And here's the thing: remote assistance isn't cheating. Every serious AV company uses some form of it. When your self-driving car encounters a construction zone it's never seen before, or a hand gesture from a crossing guard, sometimes you need a human to make sense of the situation.The problem isn't the technology. The problem is the marketing. For years, Waymo has positioned itself as offering "fully autonomous" rides. Their cars have no steering wheels, no pedals, no human driver in sight. That's been their competitive advantage, their proof that the technology works.But if there's a person in Manila ready to jump in and provide assistance when things get confusing, is it really fully autonomous? Or is it just very good driver assistance with the driver relocated to a call center?The distinction matters. It matters for regulation. It matters for safety standards. And it matters for the timeline everyone's been selling investors and the public about when true self-driving cars will arrive.As someone who's covered autonomous vehicles for years, I'm not surprised by the revelation. I'm surprised it took this long to become public. Every demo I've seen, every "fully autonomous" ride I've taken, I've wondered: what happens when the car doesn't know what to do? Now we know. It phones a friend.The technology is genuinely impressive. Waymo's cars work remarkably well. But calling them "fully autonomous" when they have human helpers on call is like calling a Tesla with Autopilot "self-driving." The words matter. And the industry's credibility depends on using them honestly.