If Uber is investing heavily in self-driving cars, there's a case to be made that Lyft represents a "purer" investment in ride-sharing without assuming the cost

If Uber is investing heavily in self-driving cars, there's a case to be made that Lyft represents a "purer" investment in ride-sharing without assuming the cost/risk of that massive expenditure. Uber is betting that they'll be first to self-driving cars, Lyft is betting it will be any one of a dozen companies that aren't Uber. I think that's a pretty reasonable bet. If/when self-driving cars hit there's no way they'll be limited to ride sharing, so the chance that Lyft will be able to benefit from general availability is high.