Joshua Brown bets on Uber Technologies for big gains
- Sundar Pichai highlighted Tesla as a leading competitor to Waymo in autonomous driving at a recent summit.
- Waymo is expanding to ten U.S. cities with recent success in San Francisco, where it matched Lyft's market share.
- Experts predict that Tesla's entry into the robotaxi market may significantly transform ride-hailing services.
In recent discussions at The New York Times DealBook summit, held on December 4, 2024, Alphabet Inc CEO Sundar Pichai highlighted Tesla Inc's advancements in the autonomous driving sector, asserting that Tesla and Waymo are the leading players in this competitive field. He revealed that Waymo plans to expand its operations into ten cities across the United States by the next year, focusing on safety metrics during its development. Currently, Waymo is operating autonomous rides in cities like Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, with future expansions announced for Miami by 2026. Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Invest, has echoed similar sentiments, suggesting that Tesla's entry into the robotaxi market could significantly reshape the ride-hailing industry, particularly in light of Waymo's newly achieved 22% market share in San Francisco, competing closely with Lyft. Wood predicts that the impending arrival of Tesla's robotaxi solution could catalyze a rapid transition in this market segment, potentially unlocking $11 trillion in revenue potential, with rides priced significantly lower than current rates, thus posing a direct challenge to existing services. Meanwhile, Tesla is preparing to launch its own ride-hail service in Texas and California next year, pending regulatory approvals, which may initially require human drivers. Elon Musk has expressed confidence that the company will eventually operate driverless paid rides, and showcased their purpose-built robotaxi, the Cybercab, set for production by 2027. This competitive landscape is further complicated by General Motors’ decision to halt funding for Cruise’s robotaxi development, indicating a shifting dynamic within the industry. As competition intensifies and more automakers potentially offer unsupervised autonomous services, analysts remain cautious about predicting revenue streams for Tesla's robotaxi. Gary Black, a managing partner at The Future Fund LLC, has opted to exclude these revenues from his valuations until market dynamics become clearer, reinforcing the notion that consumer demand may dictate future success in the robotaxi arena.