Obi study compares Tesla, Waymo, Uber pricing

Tesla’s robotaxi service in San Francisco is significantly cheaper than Waymo, Uber, and Lyft, but comes with considerably longer wait times, according to a study by research firm Obi that analysed more than 94,000 rides between November 2025 and January 2026. Tesla rides averaged US$8.17 compared to US$15.47 for Lyft, with a price per kilometre of US$1.99 versus Waymo’s US$5.72, and showed no patterns of demand-based surge pricing.

However, Tesla’s average estimated time of arrival was 15.32 minutes, compared to 5.74 minutes for Waymo. The study noted Tesla operates around 156 vehicles in San Francisco with human safety monitors, as its technology has not yet secured approval for fully driverless operation. Waymo has approximately 1,000 fully autonomous vehicles in the city.

Waymo’s pricing premium over traditional rideshare services has narrowed considerably since Obi’s previous study in June 2025. Waymo is now 12.7% more expensive than Uber on average, down from a 30-40% premium, and 27.3% more expensive than Lyft. For rides between 4.3 and 9.3 km, Waymo was only 2% more expensive than Uber per kilometre. Obi attributed the narrowing gap to both Waymo’s prices falling and Uber’s and Lyft’s prices rising.
A separate survey of 2,002 consumers in states with autonomous rideshare services—California, Arizona, Texas, and Nevada—found 63% were comfortable or somewhat comfortable with autonomous vehicles, up from 35% in the previous survey.

Source: Obi