Throughout an earnings name final month, Tesla CEO Elon Musk mentioned that the electrical automobile maker would start offering paid rides in June for its full self-driving robotaxi service. Now Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi is making it clear that he would not need to compete with Tesla — he needs to associate with the corporate to supply robotaxi rides by way of Uber’s ride-hailing platform.
“Pay attention, nobody needs to compete in opposition to Tesla or Elon if you happen to can assist it,” Khosrowshahi advised know-how analyst Ben Thompson in an interview published in Thompson’s newsletter Statechery on Thursday. “Their capabilities are fairly extraordinary, however I feel the identical financial legal guidelines apply to them.”
Associated: Uber’s CEO Says Human Drivers Have About 10 Years Left Before They Will Be Replaced
Khosrowshahi mentioned that Tesla would profit by permitting its robotaxis to supply rides by way of Uber. As an alternative of riders accessing the robotaxis solely by way of the Tesla app, they may faucet into rides with the self-driving vehicles by way of Uber too.
Working with Uber may assist maximize Tesla’s income by increasing its attain. Uber accomplished a mean of 33 million journeys per day, in keeping with the corporate’s latest earnings report.
“That’s going to create a lot, rather more income,” Khosrowshahi acknowledged. “Finally that’ll enhance the worth of the Tesla in order that the residual worth of that automobile improves.”
Khosrowshahi added that if Tesla places their robotaxis on Uber’s community, the self-driving vehicles would be a part of 150,000 different Tesla automobiles on Uber at the moment, including to a longtime presence.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Jose Sarmento Matos/Bloomberg by way of Getty Photos
This is not the primary time Khosrowshahi has indicated an curiosity in partnering with Tesla. In an interview with the Financial Times that aired in October, Khosrowshahi mentioned that he would “love” to deliver Tesla’s robotaxis to Uber when the know-how was prepared. He mentioned that he aimed to collaborate with the autonomous trade, pointing to partnerships introduced in late 2024 with Alphabet’s Waymo and Cruise.
Uber already has robotaxis on its app in sure areas by way of its partnerships, including Phoenix, Arizona, and Austin, Texas. The corporate put its personal goals of constructing a self-driving automobile to the aspect in 2020 when it offered its autonomous vehicle research division to self-driving startup Aurora.
Associated: Waymo’s Driverless Robotaxi Fleet Is Making 50,000 Trips Per Week — Here’s Where the Cars Are Headed Next
Khosrowshahi told the Wall Avenue Journal final month that autonomous automobiles would take over Uber rides within the subsequent 15 to twenty years, placing human Uber drivers out of labor.
Khosrowshahi took over Uber in 2017, main the corporate to its first annual operating profit in 2023. After reporting a lack of $1.8 billion in 2022, Uber reported an annual revenue of $1.1 billion in 2023 and $2.8 billion in 2024.
