Comment by lotsofpulp
1 day ago
> It's a criticism, because this same segment also realizes that a Waymo ride is WAY cheaper to operate than a human driven one.
If this were broadly true, Waymo would be everywhere. If it is true, and that’s a big if that it isn’t being subsidized by the rest of Alphabet, it is only true in a very, very, tiny area of the Earth.
On the other hand, Uber is a publicly listed company with public financials already operating globally with profits.
This is true for mature markets but a new technology that a horde of lawyers are salivating over a chance to sue has a significant asymptomatic risk. One accident and the whole business is illegalized.
> If this were broadly true, Waymo would be everywhere.
It's not everywhere because of regulation and Waymo wanting to strategically roll it out carefully to markets. Remember, this is Waymo's first market to offer Waymo through the Uber app. There's a reason Waymo hasn't tested non-human driving in Chicago but it has in Phoenix, SF and Austin (I could give you a hint as to why but I'm sure its obvious).
> Uber is a publicly listed company with public financials already operating globally with profits.
And wants to create even more profit...what's your point? Also it's operating income is a paltry $2B for a company with $41B in revenue. Most of its current net income is from investing activities.