Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has voiced his frustration over the company’s decision to abandon its self-driving ambitions, calling it a major misstep in light of the rapid advancements in autonomous ride-hailing.
Speaking at the Abundance Summit in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Kalanick pointed out that Uber was on the verge of catching up with Waymo before new management pulled the plug on its self-driving division.
“Look, [new management] killed the autonomous car project we had going on. At the time, we were really only behind Waymo but probably catching up, and we were going to pass them in short order … I wasn’t running the company when that happened, but you know, you could say, ‘Wish we had an autonomous ride-sharing product right now. That would be great.’”
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Uber’s decision to offload its self-driving unit, Advanced Technologies Group (ATG), to Aurora Innovation in 2020 was seen as a fire sale, prompted by financial struggles and mounting legal troubles. At the time, Uber had already poured hundreds of millions of dollars into the effort, with no clear path to profitability. Under new leadership, the company chose to scale back its ambitions and focus on its core ride-hailing and delivery businesses.
However, as Kalanick’s remarks highlight, the decision may have cost Uber a crucial opportunity in the emerging autonomous ride-hailing industry. While Uber stepped back, Waymo surged forward, deploying its robotaxis in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. Other companies, including Tesla, have also lowered interest in autonomous ride-hailing, betting that robotaxis will be the future of transportation.
Robotaxis: The Future of Ride-Hailing?
The concept of autonomous ride-hailing, or “robotaxi” services, has been gaining traction as the next evolution of urban mobility. The idea is simple: fully self-driving vehicles could replace human drivers, reducing costs for companies like Uber while improving efficiency and safety.
Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, has been one of the loudest proponents of this vision, repeatedly stating that Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software will eventually power a fleet of autonomous taxis. Musk has predicted that robotaxis will make ride-hailing so cheap that car ownership will become unnecessary for many people. Tesla’s strategy hinges on removing human drivers from the equation entirely, making ride-hailing vastly more profitable by eliminating labor costs.
For Uber, this would have been a game-changer. The company’s entire business model relies on a network of human drivers who take a significant cut of fares. Uber has faced persistent issues with driver shortages, fluctuating wages, regulatory battles, and customer complaints about driver behavior. Robotaxis could have solved these challenges by providing a more reliable, cost-effective alternative.
Kalanick’s comments suggest that he saw autonomous ride-hailing as Uber’s inevitable future. By scrapping its self-driving program, the company effectively handed over the opportunity to competitors.
Did Uber Give Up Too Soon?
Uber’s retreat from self-driving technology wasn’t solely about finances. The company was embroiled in a high-profile lawsuit with Waymo, which accused Uber of acquiring stolen trade secrets related to self-driving technology. The legal battle resulted in a $245 million settlement in 2018 and cast a shadow over Uber’s autonomous ambitions.
Faced with mounting losses and pressure from investors to turn a profit, Uber’s leadership opted to cut its self-driving division in 2020. At the time, the move was seen as pragmatic—autonomous technology was still years away from full commercialization, and Uber needed to focus on sustainable revenue streams.
However, the industry has since shifted dramatically. Waymo’s self-driving cars are now a regular sight in multiple cities, and Tesla continues to make bold claims about its forthcoming robotaxi network.
Uber’s Risky Reliance on Waymo
Uber has now partnered with Waymo, integrating its robotaxis into the Uber platform in select cities, including Austin. The partnership allows Uber users to hail Waymo autonomous vehicles, with Uber hoping its vast customer base will help expand the service.
However, as Kalanick’s comments imply, this partnership may not be sustainable in the long run. If Waymo’s service gains traction, it could decide it no longer needs Uber as a middleman. Uber, which once positioned itself as the future of transportation, could find itself sidelined by the very technology it abandoned.
The ride-hailing industry is changing, and autonomous vehicles are at the center of that transformation. Companies that invest in self-driving technology today may dominate the market tomorrow. By walking away from its autonomous ambitions, Uber may have sacrificed a once-in-a-generation opportunity—one that Kalanick clearly believes the company should have pursued.