Uber is doomed

Yup, they can’t be profitable without autonomous driving. How likely is it they’ll have autonomous driving solved within 3 years? Didn’t they have to stop working on it, because of the Waymo lawsuit?

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How much is Uber worth? Can Alphabet pushes worth of Uber down so low that they can buy it?

The new CEO seems to be making all the right moves. If he continues improving Uber’s partner relations, workplace morale and public perception, this will be a huge bear case for Lyft which has been gaining ground due to Uber’s mis-steps in past 2 years

“Despite a turbulent year for the ride-hailing company, sales were $7.5 billion. But the company also posted a substantial loss of $4.5 billion. There are few historical precedents for the scale of its loss.”

That’s impressive to lose $4.5B on $7.5B of revenue. Maybe if they double proves they could make a profit. I wonder how many people would use Uber if the price was double? They really are dependent on self-driving cars to remain a viable company.

Tesla should buy them so Elon can spin the numbers.

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https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Uber-Eats-driver-on-the-run-after-a-customer-was-12624726.php

A gamechanger for our favorite whipping boy???

http://www.sfexaminer.com/uber-exploring-low-price-express-pool-service-sfo-amid-national-expansion/

Answer to the question asked @ 1 year back.

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People are star struck with the idea of being self employed. I have been self employed for 32 years. Sometimes I work for free. Still better than any 9-5 job.

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Looking from the outside(for someone who has always worked for someone else in a 9-6 job) it feels scary, in the sense who will be the customers, will there be customers … what will be the profit margin etc etc…

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Being self employed is so much better that you will not mind working for free. I feel like every day is a vacation day. Can’t imagine kissing corporate butt all day long.
Everyone should try it.

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Don’t mind me if my kissing is a tad sloppy…

Having worked mostly in male dominated fields over the last 35+ years I’ve seen changes. Way back groping was legal and proving rape was near impossible unless the female had every bone broken.

I worked for a large company in Cambridge where I had male staffer sexually assaulting a female who reported to him. I was told by HR that I was to do nothing to the male because he did nothing illegal and transfer the female to a lesser job. Apparently reporting inappropriate behavior was the problem. I was a good soldier and then built a firing case on him.

And yes I was a good soldier and ignored much way back. Every new job had male counterparts testing my limits of off color jokes and worse It was so predictable and I had a few up my sleeve to test their limits. The harassment stopped quickly.

Many of my former male co-workers are currently re-evaluating how they treated women in the workplace 20-30 years ago. How they acted then would not be acceptable today.

One of the early lawsuits over sexual harassment (I think it was one that justice Ginsberg was one of the attorneys) had a judge asking if he ruled in favor of the woman would he have to stop treating his secretaries the same.

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From your reply I looked back at what I wrote a year ago. At that time Kalanick was still around and I said he may be pushed out and it was a life and death moment for Uber. That proved to be spot on. Nobody foresaw the metoo firestorm afterwards though. As of now it’s still burning.

We have made huge progress in just 12 months! More progress than the last 12 years.

Forgive me to be a little political here, I suspect we are seeing something similar in the gun control movement. We have had more progress made in the last 15 days than the last 15 years combined! I am seeing a lot of hope in the younger generation.

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No pain no gain. Gotta take some risks if you want to reap the rewards later.

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:+1:

After treating RE as a side-gig for the past decade, I just made the leap of faith 9 months ago that Elt1 made 32 years ago. Now RE is what I depend on for income. Yes, it is scary. Very much so - and my approach is very very conservative - meaning little to no leverage, and I prioritize steady and predictable income over outsized gains. I’d rather get rich slowly (decades of compounding and re-investment) rather than have bigger riskier pops.

I will say that I can echo Elt1’s thought. I feel like every day is a vacation day. I have old colleagues wanting me to join the companies that they now run… I have to say I have little interest in doing so. Even if working for a wage produces the luxury of a tech-executive’s income — the stresses, travel, and drama associated with that income now seems very unpalatable.

As I get older, I am cognizant that my time on this earth is finite. Moreover, my time with my offspring while they are still in the nest is even more limited. Nowdays, I place an almost absurd value on my own time.

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I’ll hang out with you in Chinatown one day…

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I was in the process of starting my own business. On hold right now because Techshop closed, but I’m gonna be blunt–what I was doing wouldn’t have paid nearly as nicely as any corporate tech job. And sales is a major part of any business. If you don’t like it, you’d better hire someone who does or don’t go into business.

At this point, I’ll take whatever pays the best and doesn’t involve sex or donating a kidney. If it’s a corporate job, so be it.