Uber CEO addresses the elephant in the room: What happens to human Uber drivers once robotaxis arrive?
World Economic Forum / Sandra Blaser
- CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said he expects AVs to run parallel to human Uber drivers for the next decade.
- He said that after 10 years of such a hybrid rideshare system, "things may be different."
- Uber has partnered with various autonomous vehicle companies, including Waymo, to offer self-driving rides.
What happens to the millions of Uber drivers when autonomous vehicles, or robotaxis, become the norm?
Uber's CEO said its human drivers won't be replaced anytime soon.
"You know, I don't think you are going to feel anything as it relates in the next five years," said chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi during a recent appearance on CNBC's "Squawk Box" from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
"So, for example, in San Francisco, our business continues to grow and Waymo is growing — just the overall envelope of the business is growing faster," he said, referencing the self-driving car division of Google's parent company, Alphabet. Uber partnered with Waymo in 2023 and provides access to self-driving rides in some cities through its app.
Though Uber plans to increase the number of AVs in its ride-hailing fleet, Khosrowshahi said that the integration will proceed slowly, at least for the coming decade.
"I think we will operate in a hybrid network," the Uber CEO said. "A combination, you know. By far predominantly human drivers, and then some AVs feathering in over the next 10 years."
After that, though, things are more murky, he suggested.
"Ten years from now, things may be different," Khosrowshahi said. "But between now and 10 years from now, the humans are going to have plenty of work, and AVs are going to work their way into the system."
Uber sold its self-driving car unit to Aurora amid financial struggles during the pandemic as it pushed for its overall business to turn a profit. The sale came more than a year after one of Uber's self-driving vehicles was involved in a fatal pedestrian crash, for which the safety driver who was in the car was ruled responsible.
Today, Uber relies on partnerships with autonomous vehicle makers, including Waymo, in a handful of US cities such as Atlanta and Austin. The company also invested in the British firm Wayve, as an extension to its $1 billion Series C funding round.
Matt York/AP
He has also said the company would "love" to partner with Tesla on its upcoming Cybercab robotaxi to make it available through the Uber app, though neither Tesla nor Musk has given any public indication that it's looking to do so.
Khosrowshahi said the broader development of autonomous vehicles is moving along at incredible speeds in the industry, and he expects the technology itself to be ready for what he calls "primetime" between "now and two years from now." But the commercialization of AVs, he said, is another matter entirely.
"The commercialization of AVs is going to take much longer," Khosrowshahi said. "The building materials, the cost of the sensors, the cars, et cetera, is too high right now."
Uber's partnerships with auto developers will help grease the wheels on AV integration, Khosrowshahi said.
"And we think that our partnering with AV developers will speed up that commercialization because we can bring them a lot more business much faster, we have fleet operations in cities in which we operate," the Uber CEO said.
Uber did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment from Business Insider.
When the technology truly becomes more ubiquitous, Khosrowshahi believes it'll transform transportation for the better.
"This is a technology that's going to hit primetime, and it's going to make for safer streets for passengers," the Uber CEO said.