Waymo Robotaxis Closing Gap on Uber and Lyft in San Francisco

Tesla Robotaxi Undercuts Competition on Price but Lags on Wait Times

Jan. 28, 2026 at 3:31am by Ben Kaplan

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A new study by ride-hailing price aggregator Obi found that Waymo's robotaxi service is becoming more competitive with Uber and Lyft in San Francisco, closing the gap on pricing and wait times. Meanwhile, Tesla's new robotaxi offering is undercutting the competition on price but struggling with much longer wait times.

Why it matters

The findings highlight the evolving landscape of autonomous ride-hailing in San Francisco, a major hub for self-driving technology. As Waymo narrows the gap with traditional ride-hailing giants, and Tesla enters the market with an aggressive pricing strategy, consumers are presented with more options and the novelty of autonomous vehicles is starting to wear off.

The details

Obi's study found that Waymo's robotaxi prices are now an average of 12.7% more expensive than Uber and 27.3% more expensive than Lyft, down from a 30-40% premium just six months ago. Waymo's average wait time of 5.74 minutes also better matched Uber's 3.15 minutes and Lyft's 5.14 minutes, except during peak demand periods. In contrast, Tesla Robotaxi had the longest wait times at 15.32 minutes on average, but beat the competition with an $8.17 average fare compared to Lyft's $15.47.

  • The Obi study was conducted between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day 2025.
  • In November 2025, Waymo increased its robotaxi fleet in San Francisco from 800 to over 1,000 cars.

The players

Waymo

An American autonomous driving company and a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., Google's parent company.

Uber

A major ride-hailing company operating in San Francisco and globally.

Lyft

A major ride-hailing company operating in San Francisco and globally.

Tesla Robotaxi

Tesla's new autonomous ride-hailing service, the newest entrant in the San Francisco market.

Obi

A ride-hailing price aggregator that conducted the study on the state of the autonomous ride-hailing market in San Francisco.

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What they’re saying

“That's the biggest change to me. It's the convergence in price as well as the reduced wait times because now you can actually compare them. It's a more honest comparison between the three platforms.”

— Ashwini Anburajan, CEO of Obi

“I don't think people realize how critical wait times are in selecting a robotaxi or a regular rideshare. They're a huge factor in how people decide.”

— Ashwini Anburajan, CEO of Obi

“They're using the playbook that Uber and Lyft used when they first came into the market — dramatically lower pricing, undercutting what's existing in the market, and really just driving adoption, driving downloads, driving people to use the app. And we know that playbook works.”

— Ashwini Anburajan, CEO of Obi

What’s next

Obi plans to continue monitoring the autonomous ride-hailing market in San Francisco, as prices, wait times, and consumer adoption are expected to continue evolving.

The takeaway

The rise of Waymo's robotaxi service as a more viable alternative to traditional ride-hailing, combined with Tesla's aggressive pricing strategy, signals a maturing autonomous vehicle market in San Francisco. Consumers are becoming more accustomed to and trusting of self-driving technology, presenting both challenges and opportunities for the various players in this rapidly changing industry.