[rwmj]

I think it's great we finally have self-driving cars, but why the huge valuation? Waymo has the enormous capital cost of owning the cars. Unlike taxi companies they don't push that capital cost to their drivers.

[zachthewf]

Ginormous market, 10x better product, no competition is currently close.

Plus although they have the capital cost of owning the cars they don't have the COGS of paying the drivers so presumably much higher margin per ride.

[valval]

You’re right that Tesla’s product is so far ahead that it can’t really be called competition.

[zachthewf]

I love Tesla, I own the stock, but I don't think they can be considered comparable until they have a live autonomous taxi service that regular people can call from their phones and regularly rave about.

[valval]

On one hand, Tesla could roll out a Waymo competitor in all the necessary cities in a matter of months if they wanted to. On the other hand, Waymo will cease to exist as soon as Tesla cracks their robotaxi problem.

[aurareturn]

  I think it's great we finally have self-driving cars, but why the huge valuation? Waymo has the enormous capital cost of owning the cars. Unlike taxi companies they don't push that capital cost to their drivers.

Ultimately, it's still the riders who pay for the drivers and their cars in a traditional taxi company and Uber. The cost of the car doesn't just disappear.

[rwmj]

Unfortunately that's not always true. Taxi drivers often work for below minimum wage, or even occasionally below cost.

[kernal]

>but why the huge valuation?

Uber without the expense or problem of a driver.