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Kalanick is 40 years old. Demographically, he must have been surrounded by "grown-ups" for more than half of that time, i. e. people who don't consider sexual h

Kalanick is 40 years old. Demographically, he must have been surrounded by "grown-ups" for more than half of that time, i. e. people who don't consider sexual harassment a fun hobby for his brand of overachievers. If he didn't get it before, I doubt he will now. But, if he's seen the light, great. It's obviously tainted by being motivated solely by his effort to safe Uber. If he's sincere, his newfound believes would be best served by resigning, or switching to a role at Uber where he's no longer responsible for managing people. Not that it matters – Uber isn't much more than a bro-themed ponzi scheme anyway. Their investors are subsidizing each ride on the order of 100% of the fare, there's no economies of scale to grow to, nor are there barriers to entry. Maybe consumers will continue to use the service. But investors, employees, and drivers won't. It's anybody's guess as to how long they can survive without fresh cash, but I bet this apology stems from Kalanick's ability to see the end of the runway.

frabbit 10y ago
Quote of the day: " Uber isn't much more than a bro-themed ponzi scheme"
adamnemecek 10y ago
Their self driving cars is the end game.
- matt4077 10y ago
  "End game" indeed. Self-driving cars shed the only competitive advantage they have: efficiently organizing thousands of drivers. Surely self-driving cars will also be available to consumers. It's just a software update from there to a mode that lets your car earn some money when you don't need it. The manufacturers will be the first to offer the remaining booking/billing/insurance service, but there'll be plenty of competitors. Uber, meanwhile, will start with >100 billion already burned in a 5-year mission to obsolesce.
  - pm90 10y ago
    If they're smart (and for all their dipshit culture they do have a good product) they will use all the data they have gathered on rideshares to possibly improve that experience. Or pivot into something else.
pm90 10y ago
That's precisely it. Uber is dependent on outside investors to stay afloat, and I'm guessing they don't want the bad publicity to be associated with someone like him, which is forcing him to take these actions. On some level, I don't trust this guy one bit but hopefully he is serious about making changes (a lot of people depend on/use Uber).

frabbit 10y ago

Quote of the day: " Uber isn't much more than a bro-themed ponzi scheme"

adamnemecek 10y ago

Their self driving cars is the end game.

matt4077 10y ago
"End game" indeed. Self-driving cars shed the only competitive advantage they have: efficiently organizing thousands of drivers. Surely self-driving cars will also be available to consumers. It's just a software update from there to a mode that lets your car earn some money when you don't need it. The manufacturers will be the first to offer the remaining booking/billing/insurance service, but there'll be plenty of competitors. Uber, meanwhile, will start with >100 billion already burned in a 5-year mission to obsolesce.
- pm90 10y ago
  If they're smart (and for all their dipshit culture they do have a good product) they will use all the data they have gathered on rideshares to possibly improve that experience. Or pivot into something else.

pm90 10y ago

That's precisely it. Uber is dependent on outside investors to stay afloat, and I'm guessing they don't want the bad publicity to be associated with someone like him, which is forcing him to take these actions. On some level, I don't trust this guy one bit but hopefully he is serious about making changes (a lot of people depend on/use Uber).