Posted on 04/15/2026 9:22:37 AM PDT by Miami Rebel
Uber has done its best to kill taxis, and now it's turning on drivers — starting with the drivers on its own app. The company is putting $10 billion into buying either robotaxi fleets or stakes in robotaxi companies, in hopes of cutting those pesky drivers out of its profit margins. From Reuters:
Uber has committed more than $10 billion to buying thousands of autonomous vehicles and taking stakes in their developers, breaking from its asset-light "gig economy" business model to avoid disruption from robotaxis, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Uber did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Uber is positioning itself as a marketplace for multiple robotaxi operators, and has partnered across much of the autonomous vehicle industry, including with, Baidu, Rivian and Lucid, and has outlined plans to launch robotaxi services in at least 28 cities by 2028.
These deals put Uber on track to invest more than $2.5 billion in equity stakes and spend over $7.5 billion on robotaxi fleets in the next few years, FT reported citing their calculations based on analyst estimates and people familiar with Uber's deals. The agreements are contingent on its partners hitting certain deployment milestones.
Between Uber and Waymo, we may soon reach a point where we can hire a rideshare without a cent of our fare ever having to go to a real human person. Won't that be nice? When no one can afford groceries any more, because we've all been made redundant by the companies that built their profits on our labor?
Hal, drop me off at the hotel.
I can't do that, Dave. You didn't tip me. I'm stopping at the corner of Matin Luther King, Jr Blvd and Cesar Chavez Ave, opening the doors, and laying on the horn.
Yeah, that’s probably true.
Not sure i want to be the second pickup after some of these idiots.
Can you imagine as a rider if the robot driver gives you a 1 rating??
Or what if I want to rate the robot driver a 1 does that mean no more robot drivers??
Uber will find a way to get the tip out of you.
If you don’t tip you get the JohnnyCab treatment.
If you don’t tip you get the JohnnyCab treatment.
Oh pretty please let uber get smacked in the wallet HARD!
I for one will never step foot into a vehicle with no driver.
A few years ago we were in Kauai driving and we came to a bridge that was one lane Cars on one side waited for the seventh car to pass from the other side and then you got to go. I lost count and wasn’t sure if it was the sixth or seventh car that passed but I went anyway. The guy on the other side waited and then started to stick his hand out the window as I passed. Being from NY I assumed he was giving me the finger and I was ready to return the salute. As I got next to him I saw he was giving me the hang loose gesture and I did count correctly. I’m glad I hesitated.
I think JohnnyCab was safer
than riding with Benny!
“Never been in an uber, never will if I can help it.”
So being in a taxi with a muzzie “asylum” holder is your preferred alternative in most major cities or a Latin invader in the southwest. Real smart.
An AI Waymo is not going to suddenly go aloha snack bar on you.
There are places you simply must take a taxi or a ride share NYC for one parking at $75 no in and out will eat your lunch in a few days.
The Boring Company is just getting started putting robotaxi only tunnels under Vegas , Dallas is getting at least one other cities will beg to have what Vegas does once it’s up and running. They are moving 35,000+ people per day you can now go from the Vegas airport to the convention center and a couple of Strip casinos and never hit traffic or heat for that matter. What would be a 30+ min gridlock crawl is under 4 min by tunnel in yup Teslas oh and it’s cheaper than taxis by a lot. $12 vs $50
But you do you boo boo
“drive myself”
And when you are too old to drive?
One dimension shy of a pilotless aircraft. No Thanks..
“Oh pretty please let uber get smacked in the wallet HARD!”
Stock up 7% today!
As a rule, I have not been to a city over 50-70k people in many years and probably won’t again. Nothing there I want, nor need to see. I like trees, hills, and pastures, good folks, and open roads.
Kids or not going I guess. Yes, it is a choice. Cities and congestion are depressing.
What they are desperate about is the upcoming Tesla autonomous vehicle ride sharing business. Uber can’t compete - and in my view still won’t be able to do so because none of the other AV companies (including Waymo) can compete with Tesla’s mass-produced cybercabs or the millions of existing Tesla vehicles that can join that fleet (and earn money from it) just by downloading the software.
What they are desperate about is the upcoming Tesla autonomous vehicle ride sharing business. Uber can’t compete - and in my view still won’t be able to do so because none of the other AV companies (including Waymo) can compete with Tesla’s mass-produced cybercabs or the millions of existing Tesla vehicles that can join that fleet (and earn money from it) just by downloading the software.
“I’ve yet to read a good solution to this dilemma.
You know the solution , Elon has said it a number of times. You just don’t like it.
The solution is a choice either we have a society full of permanently unemployable people not unemployed know the difference. Which leads to massive social unrest and eventually armed revolution. Remember people get to vote and they will vote in communism if you make it where every one is forced into poverty and being unemployable.
So the choice is tax the companies some form of VAT tax equal to what human labor would be worth to make the cost equal for replacing a human with AI thus removing the incentive.
The other choice is a tax on the companies at a fixed rate and UBI to all the unemployable people.
Doing nothing and letting corporations make a whole generation or two unemployable is a recipe for armed revolution and real communism when. You think antifa is bad now make all the genZ impoverished and unemployable the conflict will happen quickly, you think the mayor of NYC is bad wait till 30 million genz and younger millennials can’t door dash and Netflix because AI made them surplus. The party that says hey we are doing UBI as soon as we are in power wins that in a landslide.
There is a reason China is all in on AI they know it brings global communism by default.
“As a rule, I have not been to a city over 50-70k people in many years and probably won’t again. Nothing there I want, nor need to see. I like trees, hills, and pastures, good folks, and open roads.”
All the best health care is in major cities. If you want to trust your regional medical quacks to do open heart surgery by all means. I will be at MD Anderson in Houston.
I have acres and acres in multiple places in the USA I don’t hide on them. Cities are full of Arts culture and foodie culture. Be a hermit frankly the youngers don’t care. I like to travel Tokyo is one of my favorite places on earth. NYC is too.
I wonder if the Taxi’s will emulate African drivers and keep a sloppy car full of cigarette odors.
Good for you. Whatever makes you happy, that is called freedom.
I traveled extensively my first 50 years (military, work, and pleasure). Been all over so nothing much left I want to see, especially outside this country. I don’t eat much foreign/exotic food, beef and taters and greens for me (I like to know what I am eating). I like the quiet life and don’t really care if anybody, especially youngsters, care. I like dogs, horses, and cows better than majority of people anyways. I get up, work and spend my evenings and weekends doing relatively only what I want to do. The occasional trip to a small country dancehall for some dancing or round of golf. No more rat race, traffic, rude people, pop-culture crap, crime, or flight delays. Outside of work I am not on a computer more than 1 or so a week. Phone only when one of my kids texts/calls me.
I gym every day and am in better shape than most, but if I do get sick, I am not worried. Haven’t had a cold or flu (not China flu either, didn’t vax) for almost a decade now.
So, I am good. I hope you enjoy your endeavors. Different strokes for different folks. I’ve had my fill of the new culture here, progress, forced stress, and city stuff.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.