I'm also super confused about how the first company to develop self driving cars will win everything. Firstly, it's hard to say when a car is truly self driving

I'm also super confused about how the first company to develop self driving cars will win everything. Firstly, it's hard to say when a car is truly self driving and even once regulators say it passes the tests, I'm sure companies will continue investing money into improving the experience so R&D isn't going to get any cheaper. Also, self driving cars cost a ton to operate and manufacture. Probably more than the amount Uber and Lyft are paying drivers right now. Considering all these factors, it probably won't be another 10 years until the economics of driverless cars works out. In this sense, I think Uber's biggest competitor isn't Lyft or Waymo. It's Tesla since Uber is trying to shift people away from car ownership.