Uber probably views it as important that they develop the self-driving tech because otherwise (if someone else develops it, licenses it to OEMs, and then Uber u

Uber probably views it as important that they develop the self-driving tech because otherwise (if someone else develops it, licenses it to OEMs, and then Uber uses those cars), there's no lock-in to the Uber ecosystem. Either those OEMs will partner with Uber for a fee that will capture most of the profit Uber's valuation currently expects, the OEMs simply spin up their own Uber-style vehicle on demand program (far cheaper than Uber spinning up a car company), or people who can afford their own vehicles (likely a huge chunk of Uber's pool of users currently) just use their own now-autonomous vehicle a la carte, summoning it when they need a ride. In a pretty ironic twist, Uber et al have already started rumblings about how the third option needs to be made illegal, because there's no regulatory oversight on vehicle maintenance and safety. Having spent most of their life ignoring existing regulations, they soon may need them to survive.