Uber Self-Driving Tech Worst In The Business, 5,000 Times Worse Than Waymo

(Corrected first and second paragraph.)

For those who wanted to know the exact difference between the self-driving cars of Uber and that of Waymo, reports just came out that might provide the answers. It turns out that Uber is the absolute worst in the bunch when stacked against five other major companies. In fact, it’s about 5,000 times worse than Waymo.

Considering how many more years Waymo has over Uber in terms of testing and refining its self-driving technology, it was only natural that Alphabet’s driverless car division would have a huge lead over the cab-hailing firm. Reports are coming out that Uber’s vehicles are disengaging every mile or so, Engadget reports.

In terms of driverless technology, disengaging basically means that the drivers behind the wheel need to take over. In Waymo’s case, disengagement occurred once every 5,128 miles, or so. When comparing the two companies, this means that Uber’s self-driving cabs are about 5,000 times less reliable than Waymo’s.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that Uber should get out of the driverless business entirely. There is the vast gap in experience between the two tech firms to consider since the cab-hailing company only entered the scene last year. In comparison, Waymo already clocked in over a million miles with its test vehicles.

Then again, there is also the message this report sends out to investors who might have been under the impression that Uber was already in a good place with its self-driving technology. As The Guardian points out, Travis Kalanick’s company is already in trouble with Waymo over allegations of stolen technology. If Uber loses, its self-driving prospects disappear, as well.

Uber and Waymo have both declined to give any comments on the report, though, it’s fair to suspect that Google’s sibling company might be on Cloud 9 right now. Not only did the report prove to the world that it is the best in the autonomous driving business, it also landed a major blow on its legal enemy.