Ross Gerber Calls Google-Backed Waymo's Self-Driving Taxis 'Better Than A Human,' Says They're 'Tough Competition' For Uber And Tesla

Prominent investor Ross Gerber recently shared that, in his view, Alphabet Inc.’s GOOGL GOOG subsidiary Google-backed Waymo self-driving technology performs better than human drivers, hinting at growing pressure on ride-sharing and autonomous vehicle rivals.

What Happened: The CEO and co-founder of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management shared his experience on his X account after observing a Waymo vehicle navigate through congested beach traffic.

“A Waymo navigated by us with precision that was better than a human. Waymos drive extremely well,” Gerber stated, adding that this development “is going to be very tough competition” for Uber Technologies Inc. UBER and Elon Musk‘s Tesla Inc. TSLA.

Gerber’s comments came in response to CBS Sunday Morning correspondent David Pogue‘s segment highlighting Waymo’s achievement of 50 million miles driven without a fatality. According to Pogue’s report, Waymo plans expansion to 15 cities by year-end, offering rides at the “same price as Uber.”

See Also: OpenAI’s IPO Ambitions Hang In The Balance As Microsoft Negotiates Equity: Report

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Why It Matters: The assessment from Gerber directly contradicts the position of prominent Tesla bull and Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, who recently dismissed the Waymo and Toyota Motor Corp‘s TM partnership as a threat to Tesla’s autonomous ambitions. “Tesla will own the autonomous market in my view and no one can compete with their scale and scope,” Ives posted, emphasizing Tesla’s upcoming Austin robotaxi launch in June as a “key chapter of growth.”

Waymo has established significant momentum in the autonomous vehicle race, recently announcing it provides over 250,000 fully autonomous paid rides weekly across four major cities.

The Alphabet subsidiary has formed a strategic partnership with Toyota to develop autonomous technology for personally owned vehicles, combining Waymo’s driving system expertise with Toyota’s manufacturing capabilities.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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