A decade ago, Then-Uber CEO Travis Kalanick said he saw it self-driving cars as a potential threat to the ride-hail company’s business model.
“What would happen if we weren’t part of the future? If we weren’t part of the freedom thing? Then the future passes us by,” Kalanick told. Business Inside.
In the years since, Uber it is based on a strategy that, instead of seeing it, builds and drives itself self-driving carsit’s on track to be a place where riders can connect with any ride, human or robotic. “We think there will be many AV players around the world, and we want to be a commercial platform for all of them,” current CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told investors in 2024. Since then, the company has been sign agreements with more than 25 major robotaxi playersdriverless cars from Waymo, Nuro, Baidu and Volkswagen MOIA are available or will soon be available on the Uber app in several international cities.
Now, according to documents seen by WIRED and another obtained through a public records request, Uber lobbyists are pushing to build that strategy into law. Representatives of the company have pushed lawmakers to move self-driving cars to what it calls “hybrid networks,” where human drivers work alongside robots as the new technology develops.
In New Jersey, a lobbyist representing Uber took the strategy a step further, introducing legislative language that, over three years, would require any platform that offers driverless ride-hailing services to have human drivers serve 85 percent of its rides.
The language could block manufacturers of self-driving cars, including They are there, Zooxand Teslafrom using their own apps in the state—and forcing them to enter another ride-hailing app if they hope to break into the market and fend off competition from Uber, the country’s reigning ride-hailing leader.
An Uber representative presented a version of the proposal to New Jersey state senator Andrew Zwicker, according to his chief of staff, Ayla Rios. Zwicker is the sponsor of a the bill is currently being considered by the state legislature that will introduce New Jersey’s first set of laws governing self-driving cars on public roads. Uber advocates’ proposed language to place restrictions on apps that use robotaxis is not currently part of the bill, which could be voted on this fall.
The New Jersey bill is the first proposed in the nation that could limit the performance of Tesla’s robotic arm, because it requires AV manufacturers use multiple sensors to activate its softwareinstead of just a camera, as Tesla’s technology does. It will also require the vehicles to be steered in emergency situations using steering wheels and brake pedals, which purpose-built robotic arms like Zoox’s don’t have.
In Washington, DC, where self-driving car makers, including Waymo, they are involved a beatenmonths of battle to allow robotaxi services to operate in the district, Uber representatives also sought to ensure that “hybrid networks” will be the future of hail.
A bill introduced by city council member Charles Allen in April would allow driverless services on DC’s public roads under certain conditions. In an email sent more than a week before the legislation was introduced and obtained by WIRED through a public records request, Uber lobbyist LáVita Gardner thanked an Allen employee for offering to allow ride-hailing companies like Uber to participate in the district’s self-driving car program. “Allowing for hybrid networks will be essential for a smooth transition that supports technology and human drives,” Gardner wrote. (The DC bill will be the subject of a hearing on Monday, and has not yet been voted on.)
