Uber’s 2025 Q1 earnings call made one thing clear: if you’re a human driver in Austin, Waymo’s robot overlords are already running laps around you – literally and figuratively. According to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, “the average Waymo in Austin is busier than 99% of Austin drivers as defined by the number of trips per day”. In other words, if you’re on the road hustling for Uber, you’ve probably just been bested by a glorified Roomba with Wi-Fi and a can-do attitude.
Uber isn’t running from the robot revolution – it’s hitching a ride shotgun. With about 100 Waymo vehicles already deployed in Austin, Uber’s not only betting on autonomous tech, it’s doubling down, eyeing expansions to Atlanta and beyond. The utilization rates? “Very high,” say the bosses, with users supposedly giving robo-rides high marks. (Either because the cars don’t talk back or because they’re just as confused by Austin’s traffic as the rest of us.)
Not to be overshadowed by the rise of sentient minivans, Uber’s own numbers were robust. First quarter EPS came in at $0.83, on $11.53 billion in revenue. The company’s adjusted EBITDA hit a record $1.9 billion, up 35% year-over-year, and they’ve now got 170 million monthly active users, proving there are at least 170 million people willing to gamble on sharing a vehicle with strangers or robots alike . Meanwhile, Uber’s market momentum is stronger than Lyft’s, whose stock could use a caffeine boost, but Uber still struggles on some growth metrics per Benzinga’s Stock Rankings.
Behind all the robo-gloss, though, Uber’s bean counters are watching insurance cost trends like hawks with spreadsheets. Insurance, that ultimate party crasher of mobility profits, is finally cooling off, with March CPI for insurance registering its most sluggish pace in nearly three years – a modest win for everyone but insurance salespeople and the state DMV.
What does it all mean? In the city where breakfast tacos and tech hype reign supreme, robotaxis are officially busier than almost every flesh-and-blood driver. Uber is cranking up partnerships worldwide and ramping up vehicle deployment faster than you can say “move to the curb.” If you’re betting on the future of mobility, watch this space: Uber wants to deliver not just people and pizza, but the very future itself, delivered briskly by a tireless robot that never asks for a tip.
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Waymo saves lives. You can sleep in a Waymo.