Marques Brownlee books back-to-back Tesla Robotaxi and Waymo rides in Texas to compare the difference

Tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee booked back-to-back Tesla Robotaxi and Waymo rides in Austin, Texas to find a clear winner.

Even though they’re both autonomous cabs, they’re not the same.

There’s one thing in particular that stood out to him.

And he did find a ‘winner’.

There’s one winner, but it’s a very narrow margin

Tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee flew to Austin, Texas to review both Waymo and Tesla Robotaxi in their respective geofenced area.

He started with Tesla’s Robotaxi, via the Tesla app, and then he tried Waymo, which can be booked directly through the Uber app in certain areas.

Marques said he took ‘multiple’ rides with both, but didn’t reveal how many.

He also said both work quite well, but he found a few key differences.

For starters, Tesla’s Robotaxis still operate under constant supervision, with an engineer in the passenger seat for emergencies.

He noted that Tesla’s Robotaxi drives more aggressively, though it’s unclear whether this is by design or because the technology isn’t ripe enough.

The winner, in his view, is Waymo.

“Fundamentally, it went totally fine, and the pickups and drop-offs were mostly seamless,” he said in the video.

“Waymo is perhaps a bit further along in the overall experience of the ride because they’ve had more stuff happen and more time, but that Tesla’s service is less of an eyesore.”

Tesla Robotaxi and Waymo are using completely different strategies

Tesla and Waymo are employing totally different strategies to achieve the same goal.

Tesla (like Xpeng) is adamant that the camera-only approach is the way to go.

By contrast, Waymo is using a combination of cameras and LiDAR.

For reference, LiDAR is a more sophisticated radar that can also create 3D maps of what it ‘sees’.

Tesla says cameras are better because they’re cheaper, and the technology is more scalable, especially with AI.

And also because humans have always relied on cameras to drive our cars, ie our two eyes.

Oversimplified perhaps, but that’s the underlying principle.

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