In this guide
Short answer: Tesla Robotaxi is the budget option: roughly half the price of Waymo in independent tests, but it runs in six Texas and Florida cities, mixes driverless cars with cars carrying a safety monitor, and riders waited much longer. Waymo costs more but covers 15 metro areas and six airports, and has a far larger safety record.
Tesla and Waymo take opposite approaches. Waymo uses lidar, radar and cameras with detailed maps and launches city by city. Tesla uses cameras only and its Full Self-Driving software in Model Y cars, and is now adding its two-seat Cybercab. Here is how that shows up for a rider.
Tesla Robotaxi vs Waymo at a glance
| Tesla Robotaxi | Waymo | |
|---|---|---|
| Cities (public) | 6: Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando, Tampa | 15 metro areas incl. Phoenix, SF Bay Area, LA, Texas, Florida, Nashville, Denver, Las Vegas |
| Driverless? | Mix of driverless and safety-monitor cars; safety driver in the Bay Area | Fully driverless |
| Typical price | About $8–15 per ride (SF, spring 2026); $3 + $1.40/mile reported in Austin | About $20–23 per ride (SF) |
| Average wait (Bay Area, late 2025) | 15.32 min | 5.74 min |
| Airports | None at terminals (zone near Orlando MCO) | PHX, SJC, SFO, SAT, BNA, LAS |
| Vehicles | Model Y; two-seat Cybercab in part of Austin | Jaguar I-PACE; Ojai (6th generation) |
| Children | 8–17 with an adult (Model Y); none under 8 | Any age with an adult; under 8 in a car seat; teen accounts in 2 cities |
| Safety data published | 3.1M driverless miles (Jan 22 – Oct 18, 2026) | 270M+ driverless miles (to June 2026) |
| App | Tesla Robotaxi app (Tesla account) | Waymo app; Uber in Austin and Atlanta; Lyft in Nashville |
Price
Tesla launched in Austin in June 2025 with a flat $4.20 fare, moved to per-mile pricing, and by March 2026 was reported at $3.00 base plus $1.40 per mile, so a 5-mile trip costs about $10. In San Francisco, Obi found Tesla's average ride ranged from $8.31 to $14.59 depending on the day in spring 2026, about half of a Waymo. Tesla's prices rose faster than anyone's (+41% in Obi's data), so the gap is closing. Waymo's pricing is in how much Waymo costs.
Where you can ride
Tesla's public service runs in limited areas of Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando and Tampa, and it has named Las Vegas, Phoenix, Jacksonville and San Antonio as next. Waymo is open to the public in 15 metro areas, including all six Tesla cities (Austin through Uber). If you live in California or Arizona, Waymo is the only true driverless option. See the city tracker.
Is someone in the car?
Every Waymo ride is driverless. Tesla's fleet is mixed: it began in June 2025 with a safety monitor in the passenger seat and has been adding unsupervised cars since January 2026. Tesla doesn't say what share of rides are fully driverless. In the Bay Area its service uses a safety driver under a charter permit, which makes it closer to a regular ride-hail.
Safety records
Tesla's Robotaxi Safety Report covers 3.1 million miles without anyone in the car from January 22 to October 18, 2026, and claims zero injuries and zero airbag deployments. Reporting on the release noted that Tesla excluded two events from its injury count. Waymo's dataset is nearly 90 times larger, covers five cities and has been compared with human benchmarks in peer-reviewed work: 82% fewer injury crashes and 95% fewer serious-injury crashes. Both are company data. Details in is Waymo safe?
Which should you choose?
- Tesla if you're in one of its six cities, price matters most and you don't mind a longer wait.
- Waymo for airports, wider coverage, children under 8, a guaranteed driverless ride and the longer safety record.
- Try both in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando or Tampa, and compare the price for the same trip in both apps before you book.
Frequently asked questions
Is Tesla Robotaxi cheaper than Waymo?
Yes, usually much cheaper. Obi found Tesla's average ride in San Francisco in spring 2026 was roughly half the cost of a Waymo, ranging from $8.31 to $14.59 depending on the day. In Austin, Tesla's reported fare in March 2026 was $3.00 plus $1.40 per mile.
Is there a safety driver in Tesla Robotaxi?
Sometimes. In Texas and Florida Tesla runs a mix of fully driverless cars and cars with a safety monitor. In the San Francisco Bay Area its service has a safety driver behind the wheel.
Which is safer, Tesla or Waymo?
Both publish favorable comparisons with human drivers, but Waymo's data covers about 270 million driverless miles and has been peer reviewed, while Tesla's report covers 3.1 million miles and excludes some events. Waymo has far more evidence so far.
Where can I ride both?
Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando and Tampa have both Tesla Robotaxi and Waymo (in Austin, Waymo is on Uber).
Update log
- Comparison published with Tesla's safety report through Oct 18, 2026 and Waymo's data through June 2026.
Sources and official texts
- Obi: Tesla Robotaxi prices up 41% in San Francisco
- The Driven: Tesla lifts Robotaxi prices by up to 40% (Mar 2026)
- Tesla North: Tesla Robotaxi safety report names four new cities (Oct 21, 2026)
- Tesla: Robotaxi support
- Waymo: safety data through June 2026
- TechCrunch: price gap between Waymo and Uber (Obi wait times)