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Although I don't think they'd want to compete directly with Uber... surely they'll want to do something with their self driving car technology some time in the
by lost_name 12y ago
Although I don't think they'd want to compete directly with Uber... surely they'll want to do something with their self driving car technology some time in the future.
- jbigelow76 12y agoSo they eventually buy Uber for the brand and the installed user base and gradually replace live drivers with self driving cars conveniently parked around town waiting for instructions from the mother ship. So if it is a Trojan horse like the gp poster suggests it will be built with blocks of cash for the founders and investors instead of wood and filled with war crazed Greek soldiers.
- epaladin 12y agoThat would be an amazing plan, and I hope it happens that way. Given current timelines for the self-driving cars, it seems like that would be a major gamble considering the number of factors in play and the elements out of their control (which are mostly legal and social). Interesting possibility to consider.
- lgas 12y agoWhat are the current timelines for self driving cars?
- Gustomaximus 12y agoIn 2012 Sergey said it would be about 5 years away. This gives another 3 years so doesn't sound unreasonable for some initial urban deployment.
- cylinder 12y agoThat's what they're doing with Google Shopping Express. Eventually self-driving cars will be doing the deliveries.
- etler 12y agoIt's probably a big part of why they invested in Uber in the first place.
- Dorian-Marie 12y agoHaving self-driving Uber cars would be pretty amazing and cheaper.
- JunkDNA 12y agoWhat makes you think they would be cheaper?
- jey 12y agoCosts would at least be lower, which at least opens the possibility of it becoming cheaper. Sure, it's possible to conceive of a dystopic scenario where GooUber has such a monopoly that they can just keep prices arbitrarily high and disconnected from costs, but I think that's pretty unlikely.
- scep12 12y agoIt seems hard to say for sure that costs will be lower. The cost of a fully-autonomous/self-driving car is still unknown. Even if google is currently at the 90%, it's well-known that the last 10% is always the hardest. That last bit is especially important when you consider the consequences of imperfection in this venue.
- carlosrt 12y agoHe might be implying that the cost to rent a car, for 30 minutes, twice a day, would be cheaper than owning an, idle, car 24 hours a day. Or, sharing the ride with three other commuters could bring the total cost of ownership to ~15 minutes per day.
- jey 12y agoI meant that the incremental cost of paying a human driver would be gone. The fixed cost of inventing and developing the self-driving technology would be minimal because it is amortized across all self-driving cars.
- antoinec 12y agoUber said they would purchase few self driving cars: http://techcrunch.com/2013/08/25/uberauto/ http://techcrunch.com/2013/08/25/uberauto/
- wankerrific 12y agoGreat - just what the world needs. Uninsured, automated gypsy cabs. No danger there.
- mrjatx 12y agoI'll trust that over an inattentive or slow reacting human.