Uber says it alone can make robotaxis pay, hours after Waymo quit its app
Oh, the irony, as platform players fight
Google's Waymo autonomous cab company announced they will stop allowing Uber users to book its robo-cabs. This move occurred just hours after Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi advocated for Uber to be the platform of choice for all autonomous vehicle fleet operators. Waymo's Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana stated that their partnership with Uber in Austin and Atlanta was not meeting user expectations, as requests for rides in Waymo's robo-cabs were not guaranteed.
In contrast, Uber highlighted its higher efficiency in delivering trips per vehicle and shared infrastructure costs as reasons for its appeal as a host platform for third-party players. The CEO also announced plans to deploy 2,000 robo-cabs by 2027 and a larger commercial ramp in 2028. Uber's financial performance saw a 20 percent increase in bookings in the previous quarter, with $59.8 billion in bookings worth $7.5 billion in revenue.
However, a recent Australian High Court decision required Uber to pay AU$81 million in payroll taxes due to treating gig workers as employees, potentially creating further legal issues for the company in other jurisdictions.
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- Uber says it alone can make robotaxis pay, hours after Waymo quit its app theregister.com
- Waymo confirms it will split with Uber in January 2028 techcrunch.com
- Waymo plans to end its exclusive robotaxi partnership with Uber in Austin and Atlanta in January 2028 and switch to its own app to improve consistency for users (Bloomberg) bloomberg.com
