Uber

[SBenson]

Given the evolving landscape we all understand Uber is as much of a competitor to Tesla as anyone else. So I think it's worthwhile tracking it in its own thread.

Here is some news on Uber's 3Q performance:

Uber's Loss Exceeds $800 Million in Third Quarter on $1.7 Billion in Net Revenue

 

[SBenson]

GeoHot's view was that only way Uber can ever make money is through fully autonomous driving. He expressed doubt that if Uber will be able to survive until the technology arrives and I think he said 5 years in the video.

The rate at which Uber is losing money it can easily burn off it's cash pile in approx 2 years (which DaveT said was ~9Bil in one of his posts). It already raised $15Bil externally so far. Will the financial world still keep pouring money into this??

If Tesla's FSD gains credibility quickly (as Musk expects) and Uber still doesn't have the full solution, the odds that Uber can tap into the financial world severely diminish. I can be a death knell.

 

[TheTalkingMule]

It's staggering to think about companies with valuations from Uber all the way up to Facebook's $340B. Do traditional investors(old people) realize these companies could crumble literally at a moment's notice?

I'll be very surprised if people are using Facebook in 3-5 years. Why would the entire world choose an advertising platform as their main means of social networking?

If we have autonomous cars in 3-5 years, why would anyone give Uber enough profit to justify current valuations. Ignoring the other inconvenient fact that Tesla may very well end their existence in 2-3 years. Should be interesting to track. Accepting lopsided partnerships with the likes of Tesla will probably be key.

 

[GoTslaGo]

Seems Uber's California stance about not needing to comply with DMV rules maybe company wide policy?

Full speed ahead: Race is on to kick driverless trucking into high gear

Otto essentially testing autonomous vehicles in NV without licenses.

 

[SBenson]

Uber suffers for Trump ties that leave Musk unsullied

 

[SBenson]

Uber Starts Charging What It Thinks You’re Willing to Pay

 

[Jtrader]

I don't understand how Uber loses money. It's just an app... and the greatest one ever at that.

 

[Owner]

Seems Uber's California stance about not needing to comply with DMV rules maybe company wide policy?

Full speed ahead: Race is on to kick driverless trucking into high gear

Otto essentially testing autonomous vehicles in NV without licenses.

A lot of people are sick of Uber's behavior. Just childish stuff from the top. Sexual harassment, ignoring simple laws like getting a permit, etc... #deleteuber is popular

I moved to Lyft instead as an easy way to support a company that is at least a bit nicer.

 

[jhm]

Has Uber IPOed yet?

 

[swaltner]

Has Uber IPOed yet?

The snarky, only semi-helpful reply:

LMGTFY

 

[SBenson]

Has Uber IPOed yet?

I'm not sure why you asked... But in any case, I don't think they will IPO anytime soon. My theory is that their financials are in complete shambles. They are very secretive about it. Even when they disclose quarterly financials to the tight knight group of current owners/investors, it's not clear if they use any accounting standards or conventions. I'm guessing they don't even have an independent auditor... The other thing they are very secretive about is their self-driving program development. Even that I believe because they are nowhere near they want everyone to believe. If they try to go public or once they are public they will be under a lot of pressure to disclose stuff. So they keep doing these private transactions to avoid the spotlight and suck in as many gullible institutional investors as they can... As geohotz points out they have no way to profitability without self-driving cars. If Tesla comes way ahead there, Uber is toast.

 

[GoTslaGo]

Figured this deserves to be here:

Uber fires star engineer, Anthony Levandowski, at the center of self-driving car battle

 

[SBenson]

Uber Board Will Weigh Removing Executive Emil Michael

• CEO Kalanick is said to consider taking leave of absence

 

[voyager]

A lot of people are sick of Uber's behavior. Just childish stuff from the top. Sexual harassment, ignoring simple laws like getting a permit, etc... #deleteuber is popular

I moved to Lyft instead as an easy way to support a company that is at least a bit nicer.

Don't forget the Lewandowski case, the guy who went from Google (Waymo) to Uber taking with him Google' s precious crown juwels re: self-driving tech.

 

[SBenson]

While Tesla is working on AP 2.0 and looking forward to Alien Dreadnaght 1.0 and 2.0, Uber is working on Travis 2.0

Exciting!

Uber CEO to Take Leave, Diminished Role After Workplace Scandals

I thought Uber will die out of losing on the autonomous race. Who knew things will get accelerated this quickly?

The one really cool thing about this is that not many retail investors got suckered into this as they didn't go public. It's only big institutional money that got burned. oh well, there is a bit of a bright side to this story.

 

[SBenson]

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick Has Resigned

Apparently the firm doesn't have a COO or a CFO either.

 

[SBenson]

Apparently, the full c-suite is vacant.

No CEO, COO, CFO or even CTO.

It's a miracle how it's running at all.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Apparently, the full c-suite is vacant.

No CEO, COO, CFO or even CTO.

It's a miracle how it's running at all.

It's almost as if you don't need senior managers for day-to-day operations.

 

[dennis]

It's almost as if you don't need senior managers for day-to-day operations.

Just ask the Tesla Autopilot software engineers.

 

[erthquake]

Apparently, the full c-suite is vacant.

No CEO, COO, CFO or even CTO.

It's a miracle how it's running at all.

Isn't autonomy supposed to be their "thing?"