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Investing.com -- Tesla’s robotaxi trial in Austin offered a glimpse of the future, with William Blair citing the service’s strong pricing power and human-like driving experience.
The firm said the demonstration, ahead of the public launch in September, confirmed the company’s potential to capture market share with lower-cost autonomous technology.
“Robotaxi was half the price of Uber (NYSE:UBER), demonstrating its ability to win market share by weaponizing price,” William Blair wrote, highlighting Tesla’s cost advantage.
Analysts noted that the company’s autonomous tech stack is roughly one-tenth the cost of Waymo’s, giving Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) room to undercut competitors while scaling its dedicated robotaxi fleet.
In side-by-side trials, William Blair said the differences between Tesla and Waymo were “immediate and stark.”
The note described Tesla’s service as comfortable and familiar, with driving that “felt as though a friendly ghost chauffeur was driving our personal car.”
“Driving was smooth and human-like, recognizing and patiently waiting for pedestrians, switching into less crowded lanes, patiently waiting to execute a safe unprotected turn, and yet, discerning and confident enough to drive through a light that just turned yellow, so as not to slam on the brakes,” said William Blair.
They added that Waymo, while safe, was “more…robotic,” with audible spinning lidar sensors and mandatory safety briefings.
William Blair projected significant long-term value for Tesla’s robotaxi business. The note assumes total rideshare miles of 1.1 trillion annually by 2040, with the average price per mile dropping from $2.50 to $1.25.
The firm believes Tesla could command a 35% market share versus Waymo at 15%, Uber at 38%, and Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) at 13%, generating nearly $250 billion in revenue and achieving EBITDA margins near 60%.
The analysts estimated an implied value of $298.61 per share for the robotaxi segment, contributing to a total fair value of $357.43 per share for Tesla.