Lot's of interesting things in this article, but why will Uber be the source of Autonomous cars? I still fail to see what the big deal about Uber is, I've neve

Lot's of interesting things in this article, but why will Uber be the source of Autonomous cars? I still fail to see what the big deal about Uber is, I've never used it, don't see why I would. I've never had a problem just sticking out my hand and getting a cab. All I hear about Uber is about excessive fees, so why bother. On the other hand, why wouldn't GM/Ford/Etc. not create their own app for hailing cars that they put on the streets? They've already got an infrastructure for maintenance, and that real-estate can be well used for charging, cleaning and servicing of their autonomous cars. You could have an app to get you a GM car, or maybe if you prefer, you use your 'Cadillac' app for something special.