Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, took a swipe at Waymo in a recent post on X, stating that the company “never really had a chance” and that this will become evident with hindsight.
Tesla and Waymo are the two major players in the self-driving industry in the United States, both offering driverless ride-hailing services. While Tesla currently has Safety Monitors in its vehicles in Austin and drivers in the Bay Area, Musk has announced plans to remove Safety Monitors from the Austin operation by the end of the year.
🚨 Tesla vs. Waymo Geofence in Austin https://t.co/A6ffPtp5xv pic.twitter.com/mrnL0YNSn4
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) December 10, 2025
With Tesla and Waymo leading the self-driving revolution, a rivalry has naturally developed between the two companies. They have been competing in terms of geofences and service areas in Austin and the Bay Area.
However, in the long run, these current metrics of comparison may become irrelevant as both companies are likely to adopt similar operational strategies. Waymo focuses on larger cities while Tesla aims to integrate self-driving technology into all its vehicles globally, using its own vehicle models rather than a mix of manufacturers like Waymo.
One key difference between Tesla and Waymo is their approach to self-driving technology. While Tesla relies on a vision-only approach, Waymo incorporates technologies such as LiDAR, which Musk has criticized as “a fool’s errand.”
In response to comments from Jeff Dean, Chief Scientist for Google DeepMind, Musk reiterated his belief that Waymo was at a disadvantage compared to Tesla. He emphasized Tesla’s unique position in the self-driving industry.
Musk’s tweet further solidified his stance, asserting that Waymo never really stood a chance against Tesla, a sentiment he believes will become evident in the future.
Looking ahead, Tesla has the potential to significantly expand its fleet of self-driving vehicles by activating Robotaxi services on all passenger vehicles through a simple Over-the-Air update. In contrast, Waymo may be limited to the vehicles it specifically designates for Robotaxi services.