I think Uber thinks lighting piles of cash on fire is somehow a competitive edge builder, when the more money they burn faster, the bigger the return they need

I think Uber thinks lighting piles of cash on fire is somehow a competitive edge builder, when the more money they burn faster, the bigger the return they need to make on a razor thin margin, zero barrier to entry market with no network effects. As soon as they've knocked down the walls of regulation and stretched out thin and begin to make any profit at all, it will signal other new entrants. The newer entrants are more likely to succeed thanks to the road that has been paved by Uber. Uber's solution: burn more money acquiring unprofitable new market threats if they miraculously make enough cash if they get another boatload of naive investors. Afterall, Uber does not own the cars or drivers. As soon as somebody else is willing to give them a better cut or or they are able to get more money per customer, they will always go there. tl;dr: Uber has absolutely no sustainable long-term economic moat built around it and lighting cash on fire may drive current competitors out, it will not work as soon as they attempt to recoup those costs (profit signals market entrants, uber does not own drivers, cars, or customers due to zero cost of switching - it's just a fucking app).