Uber is launching a new suite of services focused on helping developers of autonomous vehicles plug-in to its ride-hailing network. The move signals an aggressive push to add robotaxis to its platform to compete with Tesla (TSLA). Despite the news, Uber stock is down over 4% on Monday, with Tesla stock also down nearly 4%.
“Innovation in autonomy is moving quickly, but meaningful commercialization will take much longer,” Uber Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi said in a news release. “For more than a decade, Uber has helped set the standard for on-demand mobility and built the capabilities that make ‘push a button and get a ride’ work at global scale. With Uber Autonomous Solutions, we’re externalizing these hard-won competencies for our partners.”
Uber’s overall robotaxi strategy is to partner with AV developers, promising its demand-forecasting app and its more than 200 million regular users can provide a quick payoff to the costs of building self-driving cars. The Uber Autonomous Solutions will offer a “comprehensive suite” of services to robotaxi makers, including AI training data, fleet management, user experience, regulatory support, and financing, Uber said in a statement. Today’s dip came as the rideshare company faces pressure from a negative report on AI job displacement.
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The shift to AI by Uber is also being practiced by Tesla, a move that some Wall Street investors praised TSLA for. Late last month, Tesla announced it would end production of its long‑running Model S and X to convert the Fremont factory toward manufacturing its Optimus humanoid robots. This comes alongside a 3% YoY revenue decline and 11% drop in automotive revenue, marking Tesla’s first-ever annual decline in sales. The move fuels the sentiment that leading tech giants like Tesla are shifting full-force towards AI.