Waymo crosses 450,000 weekly paid rides as Alphabet robotaxi unit widens lead on Tesla

Waymo crosses 450,000 weekly paid rides as Alphabet robotaxi unit widens lead on Tesla


Waymo driverless taxi parks in lower Manhattan in New York City, U.S., Nov. 26, 2025.

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

Waymo, the robotaxi unit owned by Alphabet, has crossed 450,000 weekly paid rides, according to a letter from investor Tiger Global viewed by CNBC.

That’s almost double the milestone it hit in April, when Waymo reported 250,000 paid robotaxi rides a week in the U.S.

“Waymo is the clear leader in autonomous driving, recently surpassing 450k trips per week with a product that is 10x safer than human drivers,” Tiger Global wrote in a letter to investors announcing the launch of a new fund.

Tiger’s 450,000-ride estimate is based on publicly available data. Waymo is one of the largest positions in Tiger’s 2024 fund.

Waymo declined to comment.

Watch: Waymo launches paid robotaxi rides on freeways

This year, Waymo has also announced a slew of expansions, including its debut on freeways in three cities, and autonomous driving in cities including Miami, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Orlando.

The latest milestone is also another sign that Waymo is continuing to push ahead of aspiring self-driving competitor Tesla, which has run limited pilots in Austin and operates a ride-hailing service in the Bay Area.

Tesla vehicles include human drivers or safety supervisors on board and are not driverless like Waymo’s fleet vehicles.

According to Tesla’s latest earnings call, executives said the company hit a quarter of a million miles with its fleet in Austin, and more than one million in the Bay Area. In July, Waymo announced 100 million total fully autonomous miles.

CNBC’s Lora Kolodny contributed to this article.



Source

Waymo begins deploying next-gen Ojai robotaxis to extend its U.S. lead
Technology

Waymo begins deploying next-gen Ojai robotaxis to extend its U.S. lead

A Waymo autonomous vehicle outside the Google headquarters in Mountain View, California, US, on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images Waymo on Thursday said it has begun using its sixth-generation driverless system to provide robotaxi rides to employees on Ojai vehicles, which use a base model made by Chinese […]

Read More
Anthropic gives  million to group pushing for AI regulations ahead of 2026 elections
Technology

Anthropic gives $20 million to group pushing for AI regulations ahead of 2026 elections

The Anthropic AI logo is displayed on a mobile phone with a visual digital background. Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images Anthropic, the artificial intelligence lab that’s taken heat from the White House for its support of regulations and safety, is putting $20 million into the political arena ahead of the 2026 elections. The company […]

Read More
Canada tariffs, McDonald’s value push, El Paso airport and more in Morning Squawk
Technology

Canada tariffs, McDonald’s value push, El Paso airport and more in Morning Squawk

This is CNBC’s Morning Squawk newsletter. Subscribe here to receive future editions in your inbox. Happy Thursday. For nearly a week last year, McDonald’s was the number-one global seller of one thing, and it wasn’t edible. The fast-food chain in December became the world’s top sock — yes, sock — seller thanks to its Grinch Meal. Stock […]

Read More