Tesla’s robotaxis are cheaper than Waymo, but the wait times are longer | The VergeSkip to main contentThe homepageThe VergeThe Verge logo.The VergeThe Verge logo.TechReviewsScienceEntertainmentAIPolicyHamburger Navigation ButtonThe homepageThe VergeThe Verge logo.Hamburger Navigation ButtonNavigation DrawerThe VergeThe Verge logo.Login / Sign UpcloseCloseSearchTechExpandAmazonAppleFacebookGoogleMicrosoftSamsungBusinessSee all techGadgetsExpandLaptopsPhonesTVsHeadphonesSpeakersWearablesSee all gadgetsReviewsExpandSmart Home ReviewsPhone ReviewsTablet ReviewsHeadphone ReviewsSee all reviewsAIExpandOpenAIAnthropicSee all AIVerge ShoppingExpandBuying GuidesDealsGift GuidesSee all shoppingPolicyExpandAntitrustPoliticsLawSecuritySee all policyScienceExpandSpaceEnergyEnvironmentHealthSee all scienceEntertainmentExpandTV ShowsMoviesAudioSee all entertainmentGamingExpandXboxPlayStationNintendoSee all gamingStreamingExpandDisneyHBONetflixYouTubeCreatorsSee all streamingTransportationExpandElectric CarsAutonomous CarsRide-sharingScootersSee all transportationFeaturesVerge VideoExpandTikTokYouTubeInstagramPodcastsExpandDecoderThe VergecastVersion HistoryNewslettersExpandThe Verge DailyInstallerVerge DealsNotepadOptimizerRegulatorThe StepbackArchivesStoreSubscribeFacebookThreadsInstagramYoutubeRSSThe VergeThe Verge logo.Tesla’s robotaxis are cheaper than Waymo, but the wait times are longerComments DrawerCommentsLoading commentsGetting the conversation ready...NewsCloseNewsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All NewsTransportationCloseTransportationPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All TransportationAutonomous CarsCloseAutonomous CarsPosts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All Autonomous CarsTesla’s robotaxis are cheaper than Waymo, but the wait times are longerElon Musk’s company is giving us a preview of the price wars coming to the robotaxi industry.Elon Musk’s company is giving us a preview of the price wars coming to the robotaxi industry.by Andrew J. HawkinsCloseAndrew J. HawkinsTransportation editorPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Andrew J. HawkinsJan 27, 2026, 3:00 PM UTCLinkShareGiftImage: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty ImagesAndrew J. HawkinsCloseAndrew J. HawkinsPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Andrew J. Hawkins is transportation editor with 10+ years of experience who covers EVs, public transportation, and aviation. His work has appeared in The New York Daily News and City & State.Tesla’s robotaxis are not robotaxis in the sense that they’re not fully driverless and still feature safety monitors with access to a kill switch in case anything goes wrong. But the automaker is shaking things up with its approach to pricing, according to a new analysis of the nascent market.Obi, an app that aggregates real-time pricing and pickup times for multiple ridehailing services, published a sequel to its report from last year that analyzed Waymo’s prices and rider satisfaction compared to traditional ridehail services like Uber and Lyft. The new report now factors in Tesla’s service, since the previous survey represented data prior to Elon Musk’s entry into the market.The report is based on over a month of data collected between November 27th, 2025, and January 1st, 2026. A total of 94,348 rides from Waymo, Tesla, Uber, and Lyft were included as part of the dataset.Image: ObiIn its analysis, Obi found that Tesla’s robotaxis are significantly less expensive than Waymo, and even Uber and Lyft — but also have some of the longest wait times in the industry. Tesla’s robotaxis were so cheap that it recalled the early days of Uber, when the ridehail company used venture capital cash to significantly undercut legacy taxi operations with dirt-cheap UberX prices.The average price of a Tesla robotaxi ride in San Francisco was $8.17, and rarely exceeded $10 per trip, according to Obi’s analysis. That’s way cheaper than the next cheapest option, Lyft, which averages $15.47 per ride. Tesla was averaging $1.99 per kilometer, the lowest figure of that category that Obi had ever seen in its reporting. Compare that to Waymo’s $5.72 per kilometer, and you start to get the picture of how Tesla could shape the competitive landscape.Image: ObiSpeaking of Waymo, the robotaxi pioneer is getting more affordable. Back in June, Obi reported that Waymo’s robotaxi rides were on average 30–40 percent more expensive than Uber and Lyft. But now the gap is narrowing, both because Waymo has been dropping its own prices but also because Uber’s and Lyft’s prices are rising. Waymo is now an average of 12.7 percent more expensive than Uber and 27.3 percent more expensive than Lyft. For longer rides between 4.3–9.3 kilometers, Waymo is only 2 percent more expensive than Uber and 17 percent more expensive than Lyft on a per-kilometer basis.Of course, there are a number of caveats to get out of the way before you can start making apples-to-apples comparisons between Tesla and Waymo. For example, Tesla only operates a handful of vehicles in San Francisco and Austin, while Waymo says it has around 2,000–2,500 across five US cities. As of December 2025, Waymo says it’s providing 450,000 paid trips each week. Tesla lacks the necessary permits to begin driverless operations in California, and has only just started testing fully driverless vehicles in Texas, albeit with chase cars. And there are multiple experts who have raised doubts as to whether Tesla will ever achieve full autonomy with its current hardware.Still, Tesla’s dirt-cheap robotaxi prices are a sign of the fierce competition that is surely coming for the robotaxi market. The company’s willingness to aggressively subsidize its service in the hopes of grabbing market share from its competitors is noteworthy, but also begs the question: How long can Tesla keep this up? The fact that the company is pricing its service this low at the onset, even before removing safety monitors from its vehicles, may strike some as putting the cart before the driverless horse. But time will tell how committed Tesla is to this pricing structure.Image: ObiYou may not have to pay much for a Tesla robotaxi ride, but patience is definitely a requirement. The company’s robotaxi service in San Francisco features by far the longest wait times, with an average ETA of 15.32 minutes — “considerably higher” than Waymo, Uber, and Lyft, Obi says.Meanwhile, Waymo’s average ETA is 5.74 minutes. And outside of a peak demand time in the afternoon when Waymo ETAs are significantly longer, the Alphabet company’s wait times are frequently shorter than Uber’s and are getting closer to Lyft’s at many times of the day, Obi says.As for consumer demand, Obi surveyed 2,000 people from California, Nevada, Texas, and Arizona to find out how they were feeling about these new robots. Enthusiasm is growing, with the survey showing a significant increase in comfort levels riding in an robotaxi compared to the last survey — up from 35 percent to 63 percent.People aren’t thrilled by the high costs, with 45 percent of respondents citing it as a concern. Other points of dissatisfaction are long wait times (33 percent), cancellations (29 percent), and lack of competition (24 percent). But confidence in the technology is trending high. More than half of respondents believe robotaxis will be safer than human-driven rides within five years, signaling growing trust despite some recent high-profile headlines. Still, safety remains a sticking point, with over 50 percent of respondents citing it as a persistent worry and 47 percent saying they’re concerned about possible failures.Obi says it hopes to include Zoox, which recently launched a free robotaxi service in San Francisco, in its next analysis.Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Andrew J. HawkinsCloseAndrew J. HawkinsTransportation editorPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.FollowFollowSee All by Andrew J. 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Tesla’s robotaxis offer a lower price point than Waymo’s service, but this affordability comes with a significant trade-off: substantially longer wait times. This analysis, conducted by Obi, a company specializing in real-time pricing data for ride-hailing services, provides a comparative look at the nascent robotaxi market, featuring data collected between November 27th, 2025 and January 1st, 2026. The survey encompassed over 94,348 rides provided by Tesla, Waymo, Uber, and Lyft, totaling a substantial volume of operational data for detailed evaluation.

The core finding is that Tesla’s robotaxis are markedly cheaper than both Waymo and even Uber and Lyft. The average ride cost for Tesla was $8.17, rarely exceeding $10 per trip, representing a dramatic reduction compared to the competition. Tesla achieved this through an average kilometer cost of $1.99, which Obi notes was the lowest figure seen in its reporting. This aggressive pricing strategy echoes earlier tactics utilized by Uber, when the ride-hailing company leveraged venture capital to undercut legacy taxi services.

However, the lower price necessitates a lengthy wait. Obi's data reveals an alarming average ETA of 15.32 minutes for Tesla’s robotaxi service in San Francisco – a figure considered “considerably higher” than those offered by Waymo, Uber, and Lyft. In contrast, Waymo maintained an average ETA of just 5.74 minutes. This disparity highlights a crucial challenge for Tesla’s entry into the market: the extended wait times negatively impacting user experience.

The comparison extends to other established players. Waymo, while becoming more affordable, remained 12.7 percent more expensive than Uber and 27.3 percent more expensive than Lyft on a per-kilometer basis. For longer rides (4.3–9.3 kilometers), Waymo was only 2 percent more expensive than Uber and 17 percent more expensive than Lyft.

Several caveats need consideration. Tesla’s operation is currently limited to San Francisco and Austin, with only a handful of vehicles, which contrasts sharply with Waymo's expanding network of approximately 2,000–2,500 vehicles across five US cities. As of December 2025, Waymo’s weekly paid trips totaled 450,000. Furthermore, Tesla’s operations are hampered by a lack of regulatory approvals to fully implement driverless operations in California, and recent testing has been limited to Texas, requiring chase cars. Concerns regarding the viability of Tesla’s full autonomy, raised by several industry experts, remain a substantial factor.

Despite these limitations, Tesla’s competitive pricing demonstrates the intense competition anticipated within the robotaxi market. The company's willingness to absorb significant losses in an effort to gain market share underscores the strategic importance of cost control. However, the question of how long Tesla can sustain this aggressive pricing strategy, particularly given the current lack of enhanced safety features, is a critical point of consideration.

The survey also incorporated consumer sentiment, revealing a growing level of comfort with robotaxis. Data from 2,000 respondents across California, Nevada, Texas, and Arizona indicated a 63 percent increase in willingness to ride in a robotaxi compared to a previous survey – up from 35 percent. Despite this increased confidence, concerns persist. 45 percent of respondents cited cost as a concern, 33 percent emphasized long wait times, 29 percent noted cancellations, and 24 percent expressed dissatisfaction with a lack of competition. Despite this, a significant segment (over 50 percent) believes robotaxis will ultimately be safer than human-driven rides within five years. Over 50 percent identified safety as a persistent concern, while 47 percent expressed apprehension about potential failures.

Finally, Obi’s analysis included data from Zoox's recently launched free robotaxi service in San Francisco, which will be incorporated into its next report. The ongoing competition and evolving dynamics within the robotaxi landscape will undoubtedly shape the future of this transformative technology.