Dara Khosrowshahi, the CEO of Uber Technologies Inc., stated that Elon Musk is not interested in integrating Tesla Inc.’s upcoming robotaxis into Uber’s ride-sharing service, positioning Uber as a future competitor.
In an interview with Bloomberg TV’s Manus Cranny during the FII conference in Miami, Khosrowshahi mentioned, “I’ve had conversations with him at this point. They want to build it alone, so to some extent, in Austin, we and Waymo will be competing with Tesla when they launch.” He referenced Waymo, the autonomous vehicle division of Alphabet Inc., and expressed a desire to collaborate, saying, “Life is long, but we would love to partner with them.” He also pointed out that it would be economically beneficial for Uber to serve as a platform for Tesla drivers, explaining, “What we bring is demand to the AV ecosystem when demand often is quite variable.”
A Tesla representative did not respond to a request for comment sent via email. Uber executives have increasingly focused on discussing the company’s strategy for autonomous vehicles during earnings calls and presentations. Since the beginning of 2023, Uber has established over a dozen partnerships with manufacturers and invested in various self-driving technology firms. Some investors on Wall Street are becoming anxious about the sustainability of Uber and its rideshare competitor Lyft Inc., which currently depends heavily on a large workforce of human drivers to connect with riders quickly. According to Bloomberg Intelligence, the introduction of Tesla’s robotaxis and the expansion of Waymo’s services could negatively impact Uber’s ride volume growth and reduce the commission rates it can charge.
Uber is set to begin offering autonomous rides with Waymo in Austin next month and plans to expand to Atlanta over the summer. Additionally, Waymo provides driverless rides through its own consumer app in major markets like San Francisco and, starting next year, Miami.
