[GUEST ACCESS MODE: Data is scrambled or limited to provide examples. Make requests using your API key to unlock full data. Check https://lunarcrush.ai/auth for authentication information.]  Gary Black [@garyblack00](/creator/twitter/garyblack00) on x 521.9K followers Created: 2025-02-22 03:03:44 UTC You know I love you Farzad but you obviously don’t understand the $UBER business model or sources of competitive advantage. I’m not sure how often you use UBER as you have some common misconceptions about how it operates. First, UBER is in the business of selling its 170M MAUs to drivers/owners willing to provide ride hailing and delivery services from point A to point B. There is only one UBER X rate, one UBER Comfort rate, one UBER black rate and one UBER black SUV rate at any given time for a given location. Second, UBER does not own any of the vehicles in its network. Individual owners and entrepreneurs buy or lease their own vehicles and profit by pricing out rides. All autonomous cars on Uber’s app will go at the same “self-driving” rate since none of them will have drivers and all will pass on the driverless savings to customers. At some point I expect UBER to segment driverless into economy (X), black, and black SUV rates - the same segments with drivers that exist today. Third, there is no economic reason $TSLA cost per mile will be lower than UBER’s cost per mile since there will be 10-12 other manufacturers of autonomous cars whose owners can put their cars on UBER at the same “self-driving” rates Tesla can. To say Tesla’s self-driving rate will be lower than other autonomous manufacturers self driving rates would be like saying Tesla Model 3’s non-autonomous UBER X rate will be cheaper than Toyota Camry’s UBER X rate. Even Uber and Lyft rates aren’t materially different by category. Fourth, unless a driverless ride offered by a Tesla is somehow more luxurious and more enjoyable than a driverless ride offered by the owner of an autonomous Lexus, Mercedes, Infinity, Cadillac, or Lincoln, I don’t see why the customer experience in an autonomous Tesla will somehow be more enjoyable than other autonomous cars found on the Uber app. Regular customers like me use Uber because it 1/ offers a lower cost per mile than a taxi, and b/ the response time is normally very quick - under X minutes generally and here in Chicago normally 1-3 minutes. Will TSLA be able to offer response times like that? I doubt it if Tesla insists on owning the cars on its app. You seem to have this misguided view that Tesla will be the only auto mnfr who can solve for general unsupervised autonomy, even though in China there are already several autonomous providers operating and several more including BYD, the world’s largest EV manufacturer on its way. BIDU, the market leader now has 9M paid autonomous rides under its belt, is expanding to neighboring Hong Kong, and now has a safety profile that allows it to operate XXX% without backup drivers. Waymo has 2M paid autonomous mikes under its belt and is now in X US cities. I have said probably XX times that generalized unsupervised autonomy will be table stakes for anyone who wants to be in the automotive business X years from now, just as being omni-channel became table stakes for anyone in retail, and offering smartphones became table stakes for anyone in the handset business. UBER is like Amazon and connects millions of monthly active users with providers of goods and services. Tesla is one of several potential providers of autonomous ride hailing services. If Tesla wants to go it alone, they are missing out on Uber’s 170M MAUs that pay for convenience, speed of response, safety, and of course lowest cost in several different ride hailing categories. Driverless will surely be one of them.  XXXXXX engagements  **Related Topics** [$uber](/topic/$uber) [stocks technology](/topic/stocks-technology) [Post Link](https://x.com/garyblack00/status/1893134550487965699)
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Gary Black @garyblack00 on x 521.9K followers
Created: 2025-02-22 03:03:44 UTC
You know I love you Farzad but you obviously don’t understand the $UBER business model or sources of competitive advantage. I’m not sure how often you use UBER as you have some common misconceptions about how it operates.
First, UBER is in the business of selling its 170M MAUs to drivers/owners willing to provide ride hailing and delivery services from point A to point B. There is only one UBER X rate, one UBER Comfort rate, one UBER black rate and one UBER black SUV rate at any given time for a given location.
Second, UBER does not own any of the vehicles in its network. Individual owners and entrepreneurs buy or lease their own vehicles and profit by pricing out rides. All autonomous cars on Uber’s app will go at the same “self-driving” rate since none of them will have drivers and all will pass on the driverless savings to customers. At some point I expect UBER to segment driverless into economy (X), black, and black SUV rates - the same segments with drivers that exist today.
Third, there is no economic reason $TSLA cost per mile will be lower than UBER’s cost per mile since there will be 10-12 other manufacturers of autonomous cars whose owners can put their cars on UBER at the same “self-driving” rates Tesla can. To say Tesla’s self-driving rate will be lower than other autonomous manufacturers self driving rates would be like saying Tesla Model 3’s non-autonomous UBER X rate will be cheaper than Toyota Camry’s UBER X rate. Even Uber and Lyft rates aren’t materially different by category.
Fourth, unless a driverless ride offered by a Tesla is somehow more luxurious and more enjoyable than a driverless ride offered by the owner of an autonomous Lexus, Mercedes, Infinity, Cadillac, or Lincoln, I don’t see why the customer experience in an autonomous Tesla will somehow be more enjoyable than other autonomous cars found on the Uber app.
Regular customers like me use Uber because it 1/ offers a lower cost per mile than a taxi, and b/ the response time is normally very quick - under X minutes generally and here in Chicago normally 1-3 minutes. Will TSLA be able to offer response times like that? I doubt it if Tesla insists on owning the cars on its app.
You seem to have this misguided view that Tesla will be the only auto mnfr who can solve for general unsupervised autonomy, even though in China there are already several autonomous providers operating and several more including BYD, the world’s largest EV manufacturer on its way. BIDU, the market leader now has 9M paid autonomous rides under its belt, is expanding to neighboring Hong Kong, and now has a safety profile that allows it to operate XXX% without backup drivers. Waymo has 2M paid autonomous mikes under its belt and is now in X US cities.
I have said probably XX times that generalized unsupervised autonomy will be table stakes for anyone who wants to be in the automotive business X years from now, just as being omni-channel became table stakes for anyone in retail, and offering smartphones became table stakes for anyone in the handset business. UBER is like Amazon and connects millions of monthly active users with providers of goods and services. Tesla is one of several potential providers of autonomous ride hailing services. If Tesla wants to go it alone, they are missing out on Uber’s 170M MAUs that pay for convenience, speed of response, safety, and of course lowest cost in several different ride hailing categories. Driverless will surely be one of them.
XXXXXX engagements
Related Topics $uber stocks technology