For about $200, you can rent a six-hour Waymo ride — which can double as your own mobile hotel nook, if you let your imagination go wild.
San Francisco’s expectation as the robotaxi capital of the world continues its gravitational pull, complete with an ever-growing (and ever-changing) case of characters (read: companies) vying for a monopoly. General Motors-owned Cruise, which was once SF’s foremost robotaxi and autonomous driving player, officially folded earlier this year; its technologies, research, and product were all reabsorbed into its parent company. Tesla has promised its robotaxi services for years; its final implementation has left much to be desired — and remains, frankly, unsafe — and isn’t yet authorized for driverless rides; this past summer’s invite-only program in San Francisco was only allowed if there was a Tesla employee riding shotgun … so awkward.
Waymo Hotel: for about $200, you can get a clean, safe place to sleep. Drive 3 hours down the peninsula and 3 hours back. It comes directly to you at a moment’s notice. pic.twitter.com/fHfYrNEsjn
— Riley Walz (@rtwlz) November 12, 2025
Waymo has surpassed the odds. And all its competition. In the San Francisco Bay Area specifically, there’s now an option to well … basically … hail a mobile Waymo hotel room for almost an entire night’s sleep.
Earlier this month, the Google-owned autonomous driving company announced its service expansion in the San Francisco Bay Area, which stretches most of the way down into the peninsula and leaks into areas of the South Bay.
At about a 90-mile round trip, Waymo’s San Francisco to Santa Clara jaunt takes about three hours each way, traveling down mostly residential roads and avoiding highways. Napkin math means that two stops in Waymo’s dedicated app — one in Santa Clara, another at where you were picked up in San Francisco — could lead to a 6-hour-plus trip inside your own solitary, air-conditioned, leather, plush mobile hotel room, complete with a surround sound system and ample room to sprawl out.
Riley Waltz on X, the account that helped organize the real-life, group-effort DDOS (distributed denial-of-service) attack of over 50 Waymos in October, noted that such a “booking” would cost around $200. But at least your check-in time is flexible.
Feature image: Courtesy of Waymo
