In This Article:
Uber (NYSE:UBER) CEO Dara Khosrowshahi pushed back against the idea of a single dominant player in the transportation sector, saying on April 25 that "there will not be a winner-take-all."
At Semafor’s World Economy Summit, Khosrowshahi said the trillion-dollar industry is large enough to support multiple companies, including Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA).
“You could argue that rideshare is going to finally beat personal car ownership in a world where you’ve got robots driving all over the place,” Khosrowshahi said during a conversation with Semafor Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith, suggesting that autonomous tech won’t crown a single winner.
Don't Miss:
-
Inspired by Uber and Airbnb – Deloitte's fastest-growing software company is transforming 7 billion smartphones into income-generating assets – with $1,000 you can invest at just $0.30/share!
-
Maker of the $60,000 foldable home has 3 factory buildings, 600+ houses built, and big plans to solve housing — this is your last chance to become an investor for $0.80 per share.
Transportation is a trillion-plus-dollar industry, and Khosrowshahi believes there is ample room for various players to innovate and prosper within this massive sector.
Austin Becomes Ground Zero For The Robotaxi Wars
Uber is already gearing up for this transformation, partnering with Alphabet's (NASDAQ:GOOG, GOOGL)) Waymo unit to roll out autonomous ride-hailing services in Austin, Texas and Atlanta.
Early this year, Uber users in Austin can now be matched with Waymo’s all-electric, fully autonomous Jaguar I-PACE vehicles for select rides, according to a joint statement. The fleet is expected to scale into the hundreds.
Meanwhile, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is preparing its own move. During Tesla’s Q1 earnings call on April 23, Elon Musk said, “The team and I are laser-focused on bringing robotaxi to Austin in June. Unsupervised autonomy will first be solved for the Model Y in Austin.”
Trending: Nancy Pelosi Invested $5 Million In An AI Company Last Year — Here's How You Can Invest In Multiple Pre-IPO AI Startups With Just $1,000.
The service will use Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software, which, while advanced, still requires occasional human takeover.
"It is delightful, but I have to take over every once in a while," Khosrowshahi said of Tesla's Full Self-Driving feature. "It is an absolutely great product. Again, the car is terrific,” he said, adding that he owns a Tesla himself.
Despite Khosrowshahi’s openness to collaboration—saying Uber would “love to work with” Tesla—Musk isn’t quite on the same wavelength. During the Q1 earnings call, he took a jab at Waymo’s higher production costs, saying the company’s robotaxis cost “way mo’ money.”