[ProfessorZoom]

Still can't believe the prices are comparable to Uber, sometimes costing even more. It should be significantly less to the point it drives Uber out of business. Is Waymo close to bankruptcy, unable to be profitable, or are they just greedy?

[xnx]

> It should be significantly less to the point it drives Uber out of business.

Prices are rarely based on cost, and more often based on what a customer is willing to pay. Waymo is a better experience than Uber (predictable, safe, clean, quiet, etc.), so it makes sense people would be willing to pay more.

> Is Waymo close to bankruptcy, unable to be profitable, or are they just greedy?

No x 3

[apelapan]

The cars are extremely expensive and they have a 100 billion investment to recoup. I assume they are still losing money on each ride.

[xnx]

> The cars are extremely expensive

Compared to what? Most estimates put costs around $150K/vehicle and dropping.

[cucumber3732842]

The $125k difference between that and a "uber quality" used car buys a lot of labor.

[array_key_first]

Yes, labor can be shockingly cheap, especially if it's gig labor. You need A LOT of labor to outrun the capital investment.

[jaimex2]

And this is why Tesla will steamroll them in time. That and their cars are far more adaptable.

[jdlshore]

Only if Tesla is able to roll out a competing service. Given that they have zero cars without a safety driver on public roads, I’d say they’re a very long way from doing so, and I have my doubts about their ability to do so at all. Their CEO talks big but doesn’t deliver.

[bobsomers]

Tesla won't achieve true safe autonomy without a significant change in strategy.

Source: I worked in AV V&V for a decade.

[dzonga]

the people competitive in this space - your Waymo's, the Chinese auto co's (banned in the US), Mercedes | GM (won't do this as it cuts into their main profit lines) - so that will only leave Waymo as the only player in automated ride hailing

Tesla is just making noise as usual.

[Jblx2]

Are there indications that Waymo vehicles are sitting around idle? If so, then yes, they should reduce the price to attract customers. If they are essentially running at capacity with their current prices, why wouldn't they charge more? For the novelty, etc..

[flutas]

Yes, they spend a large amount of time idle.

    Examining the cumulative hours waiting over time, it is a bit staggering just how much time Waymos are spending without a passenger or even assigned to pick one up. Peaking in March 2025 with over 304,000 hours, the California Waymo vehicle fleet is spending the equivalent of 12,700 days every month operational but without an assigned passenger trip.

    If we assume 1,000 Waymos were deployed for public rides during this period (on the conservative side given recent fleet announcements), that ends up being around 12.7 days2 of waiting per vehicle per month. Further, the bias here is to be forgiving, as Waymos are not operational 24 hours a day.

https://www.thedriverlessdigest.com/p/how-waymo-spends-its-t...

[rendaw]

What percent are idle at peak times?

[RationPhantoms]

Waymo can easily charge a premium for not having a driver in the seat. Privacy and physical security guaranteed? Also not dealing with the moral implications of what the driver is receiving in terms of compensation (or in the case of uber, not).

They're, in my customer impression, quite a world different.

[seanmcdirmid]

Having feared death in a Uber one too many times, I would definitely pay a premium over Uber for a waymo.

[haunter]

This is like the argument that ebooks should cost less than paper books.

Not that I disagree but it's never gonna happen. more money > money

[lithocarpus]

I assume that's simply a calculation they do of how much their revenue will change if they adjust the prices up or down. Until it makes financial sense to lower prices, they can wait on trying to capture the market. I would guess they're working on making the cars and equipment cheaper before massively scaling up.

[jen20]

Waymo is annoying only _available_ through Uber in some cities - notably Austin. Even more annoyingly, you can't choose whether you want to accept human drivers or just Waymo vehicles.