"Uber had a substantial driverless car project more than a decade ago. That's right. It launched in early 2015 when Travis Kalanick was CEO. At the time, Uber was a real contender, racing against Waymo and Tesla. Then, disaster struck. While testing in Arizona in 2018, an Uber driverless car, with a safety driver behind the wheel, hit and killed a pedestrian."
"By then, Kalanick had been ousted in favor of a steadier hand, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Khosrowshahi canceled Uber's driverless car program and sold off the bits. At the time, this was part of making Uber a more serious company ahead of an IPO that eventually happened in 2019."
"Lately, all that hard work by Waymo and Tesla has begun to pay off. Autonomous vehicles have finally gotten good. Waymo's AVs now regularly compete with Uber's human-driven ride-hailing network for riders in San Francisco. Investors have noticed, punishing Uber stock over the past few months for being a potential AV laggard."
Uber launched a substantial autonomous vehicle project in 2015 under CEO Travis Kalanick, competing directly with Waymo and Tesla. However, a fatal accident in Arizona in 2018 involving an Uber driverless car killed a pedestrian, devastating the nascent industry. New CEO Dara Khosrowshahi subsequently canceled the program and divested its assets, prioritizing stability ahead of Uber's 2019 IPO. While this decision initially benefited Uber's market position and profitability, autonomous vehicle technology has since advanced significantly. Waymo and Tesla now operate competitive autonomous ride services, threatening Uber's core business. Investors have penalized Uber's stock for falling behind in autonomous technology, prompting the company to pursue six major autonomous-related deals to regain competitive ground.
#autonomous-vehicles #uber-strategy #technology-competition #ride-hailing-industry #corporate-risk-management
Read at www.businessinsider.com
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