Uber Technologies Inc. Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi said Elon Musk was not open to making Tesla Inc.’s planned robotaxis available on the ride-sharing platform, making Uber a future competitor.
“I’ve had conversations with him at this point,” Khosrowshahi said Friday in an interview with Bloomberg TV’s Manus Cranny at the FII conference in Miami. “They want to build it alone, so to some extent in Austin, we and Waymo will be competing with Tesla when they launch,” he said, referring to Alphabet Inc.’s autonomous-vehicle unit. “Life is long, but we would love to partner with them.”
Khosrowshahi added that it would make “a lot of economic sense” for Uber to be a platform for Tesla drivers. “What we bring is demand to the AV ecosystem when demand often is quite variable.”
A Tesla spokesperson did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
Uber executives have dedicated more time in their earnings calls and other presentations to elaborate on the company’s AV strategy. Since 2023, it’s struck more than a dozen manufacturer partnerships and has invested in multiple self-driving technology companies.
Some Wall Street investors have been nervous about the future of Uber and rideshare peer Lyft Inc.’s business model, which currently relies on a large population of human drivers that are quickly matched with riders.
The launch of Tesla robotaxis and the broader rollout of Waymo rides could hurt Uber’s ride volume growth and lower the commission rate it can make, Bloomberg Intelligence has said.
While Uber will launch autonomous rides with Waymo in Austin next month and in Atlanta over the summer, Waymo also offers driverless rides through its own consumer app in other key markets, including San Francisco and, starting next year, Miami.