During Tesla’s April 23 earnings call, Chief Executive Elon Musk criticised Waymo’s robotaxi model, prompting a sharp response from John Krafcik, Waymo’s former boss. Musk reiterated Tesla’s plans to launch its first paid robotaxi rides in Austin in June 2025 and dismissed Waymo’s business model as overly costly due to its reliance on an “expensive sensor suite.”
Musk remarked: “The issue with Waymo’s cars is it costs way more money, but that is the issue. The car is very expensive, made in low volume. Teslas are probably cost 25% or 20% of what a Waymo costs and made in very high volume. So, ironically, like, we’re the ones to make the bet that a pure AI solution with cameras and what do you have? The car actually will listen for sirens and that kind of thing. It’s the right move. And Waymo decided that an expensive sensor suite is the way to go, even though Google is very good at AI.”
Krafcik’s response did not mince words. “Tesla has never competed with Waymo — they’ve never sold a robotaxi ride to a public rider,” he said, adding, “They’ve failed utterly and completely at this for each of the 10 years they’ve been talking about it.” While Musk criticized Waymo for prioritizing radar and lidar sensors, Krafcik defended the added cost, stating, “In the long run, the cost of sensors has a trivial cost-per-mile impact over the useful life of a robotaxi, while also providing massive quantifiable safety benefits.”
Musk’s claims about Tesla’s autonomous technology have often been met with scepticism. Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) program has been criticized for delays, and Tesla vehicles operating under FSD have yet to prove safety levels comparable to human drivers. Musk’s approach to autonomy is distinguished by his avowed opposition to all sensors beyond camera vision. By contrast, Waymo’s sixth-generation robotaxi uses multiple LiDARS, radars, cameras and audio sensors.
“Well, after 10 years of undelivered promises, it seems pretty rational for those watching to be data- and evidence-driven. There’s still a lot of promises, still no Tesla liability for FSD driving performance, and still no universal robotaxi service,” Krafcik drove home. Parent company Alphabet reported in its most recent earnings call that Waymo was now delivering 250,000 paid robotaxi trips per week in the US.
As Tesla prepares to finally enter the robotaxi market, the comparison between its camera-only approach and Waymo’s sensor suite remains a key point of contention in the industry. Both companies continue to pursue their visions for autonomous driving, with markedly different strategies and levels of progress.
