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- Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, featured in a recent episode of the Hard Fork podcast.
- Khosrowshahi described Elon Musk’s vision for Tesla’s robotaxis as ‘quite intriguing.’
- Musk introduced the Tesla robotaxi, named Cybercab, earlier this month.
Uber’s Stance on Autonomous Vehicles
Dara Khosrowshahi has expressed keen interest in Tesla’s initiative to launch autonomous robotaxis. In a recent discussion on the Hard Fork tech podcast, he elaborated on Uber’s strategy within the self-driving vehicle sector.
This year marked a significant collaboration between Uber and Waymo aimed at providing autonomous ride-hailing services to customers in Phoenix. The two companies announced plans to extend their services into Atlanta and Austin by 2025. Notably, Waymo and Uber had previously been embroiled in legal disputes over self-driving technology but settled for $245 million back in 2018.
The expansion comes amid fierce competition between Waymo and Tesla as they vie for dominance in the autonomous vehicle market.
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Khosrowshahi Weighs In on Competition with Tesla
During his interview, Khosrowshahi was asked whether he views Tesla as a competitor following Musk’s recent “We, Robot” event where he showcased the Cybercab. Despite some skepticism from former Waymo CEO John Krafcik and various Wall Street analysts regarding its potential impact, Musk stated that production for Cybercabs is expected before 2027.
“They certainly could be competitors,” remarked Khosrowshahi when discussing Tesla’s plans. ”If they create their own AV vehicle and choose to operate solely through their app, then yes.” However, he also noted that if they opt to collaborate with Uber instead, it could lead to a partnership opportunity.
Khosrowshahi acknowledged Musk’s vision as “quite compelling,” suggesting that fleet owners aiming for maximum profitability might prefer utilizing Uber’s platform for their operations—though he admitted uncertainty about Musk’s ultimate intentions.
Tesla
Pursuing Partnerships While Competing with Industry Giants
On Hard Fork podcast discussions about competition dynamics between companies like Waymo and Tesla were prevalent; Khosrowshahi expressed confidence that Waymo could outperform its rivals over time: “I believe Elon will eventually achieve viable scale but we are placing our bets on Waymo over the next five years.”
This perspective contrasts somewhat sharply with comments made by Andrej Karpathy—an early member of OpenAI who previously led AI initiatives at Tesla—who suggested that while both companies face challenges (Waymo grappling more so with hardware issues), software-related hurdles are generally easier to overcome which may allow Teslas’ advancements sooner than anticipated within ten years’ time frame according him .
Khosrowshahi addressed these hardware concerns directly stating: “I think hardware costs will decrease over time; thus while there may be challenges ahead , I am confident they can navigate them successfully.”
A Shift Away from Independent Development Efforts
Initially attempting solo ventures into autonomous driving through its Advanced Technologies Group ,Uber faced numerous obstacles including tragic incidents such as fatal accidents leading them ultimately sell off said unit Aurora—a startup focused specifically upon developing self-driving technologies—in year twenty twenty .
As per reports received Business Insider representatives representing company did not provide any comments regarding inquiries made concerning current developments .
