Tesla’s Robotaxi service may still be rough around the edges, but one thing is already clear: it’s cheap. A new analysis highlights just how aggressively Tesla is pricing its rides compared to rivals like Waymo, Uber, and Lyft — even if passengers are paying for it with longer wait times.
According to a report cited by The Verge, ride-hailing analytics app Obi analyzed more than 94,000 trips taken between November 27, 2025, and January 1, 2026, across Tesla, Waymo, Uber, and Lyft. The findings show Tesla’s Robotaxi rides in San Francisco averaged just $8.17 per trip and rarely exceeded $10. That’s dramatically lower than Lyft’s $15.47 average, and far below Waymo’s pricing.
On a per-distance basis, Tesla averaged $1.99 per kilometer — the lowest figure Obi has ever recorded. By comparison, Waymo came in at $5.72 per kilometer. The pricing strategy reminded researchers of Uber’s early days, when subsidized fares were used to rapidly gain market share and undercut competitors.
That bargain pricing comes with trade-offs, however. Tesla’s Robotaxi service currently has the longest wait times in the market, averaging 15.32 minutes in San Francisco. Waymo’s average ETA, by contrast, sits at just 5.74 minutes, and is often competitive with or faster than Uber and Lyft outside peak hours.
Part of the reason is scale. Tesla is still operating a relatively small fleet in San Francisco and Austin, while Waymo says it has roughly 2,000 to 2,500 vehicles across five U.S. cities, delivering around 450,000 paid trips per week. That could change quickly. Tesla has been aggressively expanding its Robotaxi fleet in recent weeks, adding dozens of new vehicles to help reduce wait times and meet rising demand.
Tesla also lacks the permits for fully driverless operations in California and instead operates with a safety monitor behind the wheel, though it has recently begun offering fully unsupervised Robotaxi rides in Austin.
Despite lingering concerns, consumer sentiment appears to be shifting. Obi’s survey of 2,000 respondents across several states found comfort levels with robotaxis jumped from 35% to 63% compared to last year. Cost remains a major concern, but long-term confidence in autonomy is rising, with more than half of respondents believing robotaxis will be safer than human drivers within five years.
For now, Tesla’s dirt-cheap pricing is a preview of the price war to come — and a signal that the company is willing to spend heavily to win the robotaxi race.
