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Self-driving vehicles are the final commoditization of the rides-for-hire business. Personally, I'd be very skeptical about the 3-5 year time frame, but clearl
by aetherson 12y ago
Self-driving vehicles are the final commoditization of the rides-for-hire business. Personally, I'd be very skeptical about the 3-5 year time frame, but clearly they're coming at some point. When they do, I can't see any rides-for-hire business having gross margins higher than 5% (though the size of the rides-for-hire market may well expand greatly). Barrier for entry is basically nonexistent.
- lxmorj 12y agoScale and perks will drive that 5% up, I imagine. Sure, Joe Average can buy a Tesla Model A (for automatic, obviously) and have it operate as a AI-Uber Driver, but Uber can buy a fleet of thousands, allowing them better pricing, better access to charging stations, better data about which rides are most valuable and where to position their cars. With a bit better margins comes things like bottled water in the cars. This differentiates them further, etc.
- toomuchtodo 12y agoI used to think otherwise when Uber first hit the scene, but now I'm willing to pay the premium to own my self-driving vehicle to control my mobility.
- gregpilling 12y agoand then they will add "driving attendants" attractive people to serve you the drinks etc on your trip