Waymo’s gain is Uber and Lyft’s pain
Share prices for the big ride-hailing companies have been slipping since Wednesday afternoon, after Waymo announced that it would introduce its autonomous vehicles to San Diego and Las Vegas.
The announcement puts pressure on Uber and Lyft, which are behind in the autonomous vehicle race. Waymo, owned by Alphabet, has seen a boom in ridership in the past year.
Uber’s stock price did recover some ground after it was announced that one of its investments, Moove, would acquire Brazilian ride-share company Kovi.
On the road again: As Waymo prepares for broader scale, we're embarking on our largest road trip to date, visiting 10+ cities in 2025. First up: Las Vegas and San Diego.
— Waymo (@Waymo) January 29, 2025
Read more about how our road trips help advance the Waymo Driver's AI: https://t.co/96XzLSFV8O pic.twitter.com/UDCWOCkVOk
Meanwhile, Tesla said in its earnings call Wednesday afternoon that its robotaxi will go live in Austin in June. You may remember that Tesla unveiled its robotaxis at an event in October that left much to be desired – so much so that Uber and Lyft’s stocks rose after the event.
While the prospect of autonomous vehicles excites investors, the technology is not yet profitable. Alphabet’s “other bets” category, which includes Waymo and other subsidiaries, consistently loses money. General Motors recently announced that it would stop investing in its AV project, Cruise, which it said would save it $1 billion annually. Alphabet, the parent company of Waymo, is up more than 2% today.
On the road again: As Waymo prepares for broader scale, we're embarking on our largest road trip to date, visiting 10+ cities in 2025. First up: Las Vegas and San Diego.
— Waymo (@Waymo) January 29, 2025
Read more about how our road trips help advance the Waymo Driver's AI: https://t.co/96XzLSFV8O pic.twitter.com/UDCWOCkVOk
Meanwhile, Tesla said in its earnings call Wednesday afternoon that its robotaxi will go live in Austin in June. You may remember that Tesla unveiled its robotaxis at an event in October that left much to be desired – so much so that Uber and Lyft’s stocks rose after the event.
While the prospect of autonomous vehicles excites investors, the technology is not yet profitable. Alphabet’s “other bets” category, which includes Waymo and other subsidiaries, consistently loses money. General Motors recently announced that it would stop investing in its AV project, Cruise, which it said would save it $1 billion annually. Alphabet, the parent company of Waymo, is up more than 2% today.
