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If there are competitors (e.g., Waymo) that have self-driving that's significantly cheaper, then Uber and Lyft can't compete. So it's a huge potential threat to

by necubi 6y ago

If there are competitors (e.g., Waymo) that have self-driving that's significantly cheaper, then Uber and Lyft can't compete. So it's a huge potential threat to their businesses. And if self-driving makes rides much cheaper, that can significantly boost the size of the market. But that does not imply that they can't be successful and profitable businesses in a world without self-driving cars, which is the frequently-made claim in the top post.

cmsj 6y ago
Realistically though it's about as much of an actual threat as teleporters are.
mkolodny 6y ago
I agree that saying self-driving is a threat is very different from saying that your business will fail unless you create self-driving cars. Also, saying that Uber/Lyft need to create their own self-driving cars is ignoring the fact that other companies that create self-driving cars are, and will likely continue to offer rides in their cars through existing ride sharing companies.
- jfim 6y ago
  > other companies that create self-driving cars are, and will likely continue to offer rides in their cars through existing ride sharing companies That remains to be seen. If a company is able to create self driving cars, what's the value add provided by Uber and Lyft? Having a middleman TNC platform skim some profits doesn't really make sense from that perspective. Compared to achieving reliable and cost effective autonomy at scale, building a ride sharing app is trivial, and customers have indicated that they're willing to install another app if the fares are cheaper. The complexity of getting a self driving service is high enough that there probably will be only a few entrants in the market, unlike the current value add provided by the TNC apps that match customers with a large pool of individual providers.
  - astrange 6y ago
    Uber seems to be expanding into food delivery and other logistics, where trust is still valuable so a middleman can be useful, but it’s hard to say how well it’ll work.

by necubi 6y ago

cmsj 6y ago

Realistically though it's about as much of an actual threat as teleporters are.

mkolodny 6y ago

I agree that saying self-driving is a threat is very different from saying that your business will fail unless you create self-driving cars. Also, saying that Uber/Lyft need to create their own self-driving cars is ignoring the fact that other companies that create self-driving cars are, and will likely continue to offer rides in their cars through existing ride sharing companies.

jfim 6y ago
> other companies that create self-driving cars are, and will likely continue to offer rides in their cars through existing ride sharing companies That remains to be seen. If a company is able to create self driving cars, what's the value add provided by Uber and Lyft? Having a middleman TNC platform skim some profits doesn't really make sense from that perspective. Compared to achieving reliable and cost effective autonomy at scale, building a ride sharing app is trivial, and customers have indicated that they're willing to install another app if the fares are cheaper. The complexity of getting a self driving service is high enough that there probably will be only a few entrants in the market, unlike the current value add provided by the TNC apps that match customers with a large pool of individual providers.
- astrange 6y ago
  Uber seems to be expanding into food delivery and other logistics, where trust is still valuable so a middleman can be useful, but it’s hard to say how well it’ll work.