Uber CEO Lays Out the Path to Autonomous Vehicles
EP 113 of The Logan Bartlett Show: Untold stories from tech's inner circle
Dara Khosrowshahi runs one of the most complicated businesses in the world, Uber. Since taking over in 2017 Dara has led the company to profitability against all odds. Some stats from their latest earnings which happened this Tuesday: gross bookings up 21% YoY, 14% expansion of audience, 7.4 million drivers and couriers globally.
In this episode we touch on a number of things including Uber’s position on the future of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs), the challenges that were overcome in making Uber profitable and some of the operating principles that have stuck with Dara since his days as CEO of Expedia.
Click here to view the episode transcript | Watch on Youtube | Listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts
✉️ Episode Memo
→ Why We Won't Have Full AV Adoption for the Next 7 Years
Dara delves into why fully autonomous vehicles aren't going to take over anytime soon. The big hurdles being: society isn’t quite ready to trust robot drivers, regulations are complex and vary widely, and the hardware still needs a lot of work. For those reasons, expect to see AVs gradually becoming part of our lives over the next 10 to 15 years rather than a quick, widespread adoption.
→ Why Elon’s Ride-Sharing Service Won’t Work
Building a successful ride-sharing network is more complicated than it looks. It’s not just about having cars; it involves intricate logistics, understanding customer behavior, and navigating a maze of regulations. Uber’s years of experience and robust infrastructure give it an edge that newcomers will find hard to match. For many of the same reasons that Dara led the divesting of their own AV initiative ATG, Dara thinks that Tesla will run into barriers if and when it tries to do ride-sharing.
→ How He Spends His Time as CEO
Dara broke down his time into three categories that help him operate at the right altitude:
Regular business and technical reviews keep the machine running smoothly
Key strategic areas like autonomous vehicles and expanding into the suburbs
Skip-level one-on-one meetings that help him get a real feel for what’s happening on the ground
One of my favorite episodes today with a veteran CEO that maintains high humility.
⭐ Trailer
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