Uber is investing more than $10 billion in robotaxis and taking on Elon Musk
On August 6, Uber announced plans to invest more than $10 billion in the development of its autonomous taxi network. The company believes this will strengthen its position in the race to commercialize autonomous vehicles and compete with Elon Musk’s projects. In the second quarter, Uber also reported a record free cash flow of $2.8 billion.
Over the past 12 months, this figure reached approximately $10.1 billion, as booking volumes continued to grow rapidly.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi stated that the record cash flow will help the company become a “long-term winner in the autonomous vehicle space.”
Uber plans to launch robotaxi services in at least 15 cities this year, competing with Waymo (Alphabet) and Tesla for the right to be the first to roll out robotaxis on a large scale in major markets.
Uber previously announced that its British partner, Wayve, had received approval from Transport for London to launch a commercial robotaxi service. A safety driver will be behind the wheel. Wayve CEO Alex Kendall told the FT that, in his opinion, this is the first license in the UK to allow the use of autonomous driving technology in this format.
In 2020, the company shut down its own autonomous vehicle development division as part of cost-cutting measures. But over the past year, Uber has been actively seeking to become a key intermediary for startups working on autonomous transportation around the world.
For the three months ended June 30, Uber reported:
- gross bookings rose 24% year-over-year to $58 billion, exceeding analysts’ expectations;
- revenue increased by 12% to $14.2 billion, but fell slightly short of forecasts due to a previously announced accounting loss of $1.1 billion related to changes in U.K. legislation;
- Operating profit was $1.9 billion, which also came in slightly below expectations due to a $141 million provision for legal expenses.
Uber CFO Balaji Krishnamurthy also reiterated Uber’s proposal to acquire the German company Delivery Hero for 13 billion euros. Uber reported that it had already paid approximately 4 billion euros for a 37% stake in Delivery Hero even before the official takeover bid.
If the deal is successfully completed, the company will gain access to a number of fast-growing markets, particularly in Europe and the Middle East.
Source: FT
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