# Travis Kalanick on Uber's bet on self-driving cars: 'I can't be wrong'



## London Tube (Aug 14, 2018)

*Carson:* You mentioned Google and Apple. With so many of these companies working on it, why do you think Uber will have an advantage? Why do you think Uber will be tied for first if not in first place?

*Kalanick:* Well, it's not about whether I think it is - it's that it has to be. So, if we are not tied for first, then the person who is in first, or the entity that's in first, then rolls out a ride-sharing network that is far cheaper or far higher-quality than Uber's, then Uber is no longer a thing.

https://www.businessinsider.com/tra...n-self-driving-cars-future-driver-jobs-2016-8


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## heynow321 (Sep 3, 2015)

thanks for the 2 year old article. everybody already knows boober is toast and the sdc fantasy is simply to keep gullible investors shoving more money into the black hole.


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## London Tube (Aug 14, 2018)

heynow321 said:


> thanks for the 2 year old article. everybody already knows boober is toast and the sdc fantasy is simply to keep gullible investors shoving more money into the black hole.


I don't think that's correct. I don't know how to create a poll but if I did I'd create this:

*Uber*
toast:
not toast:


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## uberdriverfornow (Jan 10, 2016)

the guy has been wrong on everything in his life and has never had a business succeed

how many people get fired from their own company ?


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## everythingsuber (Sep 29, 2015)

London Tube said:


> I don't think that's correct. I don't know how to create a poll but if I did I'd create this:
> 
> *Uber*
> toast:
> not toast:


Toast. With marmalade and way too much butter.


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## London Tube (Aug 14, 2018)

heynow321 said:


> thanks for the 2 year old article. everybody already knows boober is toast and the sdc fantasy is simply to keep gullible investors shoving more money into the black hole.


The article is very pertinent today given that investors told Dara yesterday they're giving up on self driving cars.
Say what you want about Travis but he's not stupid and knows more about Uber than anyone alive. He realized more than 2 years ago that self driving cars were an existential threat. If investors are pulling the plug on self driving cars, then they're giving up on Uber. Uber can last exactly 5 seconds after investors stop incinerating their money.

Travis: So, if we are not tied for first, then the person who is in first, or the entity that's in first, then rolls out a ride-sharing network that is far cheaper or far higher-quality than Uber's, then Uber is no longer a thing.

*Uber told by investors to sell self-driving unit*
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...lf-driving-unit-the-information-idUSKBN1L01JM


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## transporter007 (Feb 19, 2018)

When all is said and done Travis Cordell Kalanick still has a personal net worth of $4.8 billion. That’s billion with a B.
In a capitalist society that’s all that counts, period 

Follow the money


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## FormerTaxiDriver♧ (Apr 5, 2018)

Kalanick should dress up in sack cloth and kneel down on a bed of smoldering ashes and cry out!


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## iheartuber (Oct 31, 2015)

What do people with Billions of dollars do with their money? Stick it in a coffee can under their bed? No, they invest it.

You think Travis is investing in SDCs? LOL.... no


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## getawaycar (Jul 10, 2017)

transporter007 said:


> When all is said and done Travis Cordell Kalanick still has a personal net worth of $4.8 billion. That's billion with a B.


That explains why Uber has been bleeding massive amounts of money at a record pace ever since it launched. Countless billions (with a B) of investor money has mysteriously 'disappeared' into the pockets of Uber executives. There is your Black Hole (with a B).


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## transporter007 (Feb 19, 2018)

getawaycar said:


> That explains why Uber has been bleeding massive amounts of money at a record pace ever since it launched. Countless billions (with a B) of investor money has mysteriously 'disappeared' into the pockets of Uber executives. There is your Black Hole (with a B).


"_mysteriously 'disappeared' into the pockets of Uber executives_"
Reprable reporting organization Link where getawaycar read this?

No link = madeup nonsense tripe


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## getawaycar (Jul 10, 2017)

transporter007 said:


> "_mysteriously 'disappeared' into the pockets of Uber executives_"
> Reprable reporting organization Link where getawaycar read this?
> 
> No link = madeup nonsense tripe


You said yourself Travis Kalenick is worth $5 billion. Where do you think he got all that money? Winning the state lottery? LOL.


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## iheartuber (Oct 31, 2015)

getawaycar said:


> That explains why Uber has been bleeding massive amounts of money at a record pace ever since it launched. Countless billions (with a B) of investor money has mysteriously 'disappeared' into the pockets of Uber executives. There is your Black Hole (with a B).


Hey buddy, I'm no fan of TK but let's tell the truth here. The reason why TK is worth $4.8billion is because he owns x amount of shares of uber stock and Uber is currently valued at $72 Billion. He doesn't actually have $4.8 Billion as a check from uber. If the day should ever comes where uber goes public he will slowly be able to cash out (he can't do it all at once) but that ipo looks real tough to me, IMHO

HOWEVER, if Travis were smart he would have gone to any bank 5 years ago, gotten himself billions in loans using his Uber stake as collateral and invested that money in actual income-producing ventures (like real estate) and from that he would have gotten actual money not just "value on paper"

In a related comment, the reason why uber loses billions is because they treat their drivers like crap, drivers quit, and then they have to spend a lot to recruit new drivers. That's an oversimplified way of explaining it.


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## getawaycar (Jul 10, 2017)

iheartuber said:


> Hey buddy, I'm no fan of TK but let's tell the truth here. The reason why TK is worth $4.8billion is because he owns x amount of shares of uber stock and Uber is currently valued at $72 Billion. He doesn't actually have $4.8 Billion as a check from uber. If the day should ever comes where uber goes public he will slowly be able to cash out (he can't do it all at once) but that ipo looks real tough to me, IMHO


That is true. But one can also embezzle money from their company, using legal and not so legal means. Kalenick and other Uber execs could have billions hidden in offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands that no one knows about. One day a good investigative reporter may find out about it and blow the lid off the scam. With the kind of characters they have running this company I wouldn't be surprised.



iheartuber said:


> In a related comment, the reason why uber loses billions is because they treat their drivers like crap, drivers quit, and then they have to spend a lot to recruit new drivers. That's an oversimplified way of explaining it.


That might explain part of it, but how the heck do you lose so much money from a cash cow like Uber? Something else is going on here that may be criminal in nature.


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## iheartuber (Oct 31, 2015)

getawaycar said:


> That is true. But one can also embezzle money from their company, using legal and not so legal means. Kalenick and other Uber execs could have billions hidden in offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands that no one knows about. One day a good investigative reporter may find out about it and blow the lid off the scam. With the kind of characters they have running this company I wouldn't be surprised.


wild accusations, but i see no evidence of that


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## backstreets-trans (Aug 16, 2015)

iheartuber said:


> Hey buddy, I'm no fan of TK but let's tell the truth here. The reason why TK is worth $4.8billion is because he owns x amount of shares of uber stock and Uber is currently valued at $72 Billion. He doesn't actually have $4.8 Billion as a check from uber. If the day should ever comes where uber goes public he will slowly be able to cash out (he can't do it all at once) but that ipo looks real tough to me, IMHO
> 
> HOWEVER, if Travis were smart he would have gone to any bank 5 years ago, gotten himself billions in loans using his Uber stake as collateral and invested that money in actual income-producing ventures (like real estate) and from that he would have gotten actual money not just "value on paper"
> 
> In a related comment, the reason why uber loses billions is because they treat their drivers like crap, drivers quit, and then they have to spend a lot to recruit new drivers. That's an oversimplified way of explaining it.


Travis already cashed out on a big chunk of his shares in the soft bank deal. He took the money and ran.

https://www.businessinsider.com/travis-kalanick-selling-14-billion-in-uber-shares-2018-1


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## iheartuber (Oct 31, 2015)

getawaycar said:


> That might explain part of it, but how the heck do you lose so much money from a cash cow like Uber? Something else is going on here that may be criminal in nature.


Who says Uber is a "cash cow"? They, like all tech start ups, may be famous but that isn't necessarily translating into net income when you factor all their crazy expenses and foolish business moves. Or, to put it more simply: Maybe they're just like so many other tech start-ups who burn cash at a crazy-stupid pace. Illustrated so precisely by the habits of this fictional tech company, sliceline, on the tv show silicon valley:


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## getawaycar (Jul 10, 2017)

iheartuber said:


> wild accusations, but i see no evidence of that


It's not an accusation, but a possibility.



iheartuber said:


> but i see no evidence of that


They aren't dumb enough to leave behind evidence. The point of a crime is to get away with it and cover your tracks, and some people are very good at doing that. Bernie Madoff ran his scam for decades before getting caught. Because who would ever suspect the head of the freaking NASDAQ of such a gigantic crime?


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## iheartuber (Oct 31, 2015)

backstreets-trans said:


> Travis already cashed out on a big chunk of his shares in the soft bank deal. He took the money and ran.


He wouldn't have had to if he pulled the move I laid out, but I guess he wasn't smart enough to think of that. The Soft bank deal is the same concept, but he gets less and loses more equity.



getawaycar said:


> It's not an accusation, but a possibility.
> 
> They aren't dumb enough to leave behind evidence. The point of a crime is to get away with it and cover your tracks, and some people are very good at doing that. Bernie Madoff ran his scam for decades before getting caught. Because who would ever suspect the head of the freaking NASDAQ of such a gigantic crime?


you're telling me a guy as mentally unhinged as this is able to mastermind a flawless way to commit various crimes of embezzlement and fraud and hide his tracks so well to not get caught? yeah, that doesn't make sense.


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## transporter007 (Feb 19, 2018)

backstreets-trans said:


> Travis already cashed out on a big chunk of his shares in the soft bank deal. He took the money and ran.
> 
> https://www.businessinsider.com/travis-kalanick-selling-14-billion-in-uber-shares-2018-1


Reading is fundamental:
"reportedly planning" (reported by whom? Disgruntled Uber driver? Planning?)

If it happens his personal worth goes up to over $6bl. In a capitalist society he'd be viewed as astute

Keep the "news" coming


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## getawaycar (Jul 10, 2017)

iheartuber said:


> you're telling me a guy as mentally unhinged as this is able to mastermind a flawless way to commit various crimes of embezzlement and fraud and hide his tracks so well to not get caught? yeah, that doesn't make sense.


So what?

If I had a quarter for each time a CEO has verbally abused an employee or even goes into a fit of rage on someone who works for them, I would be as rich as TK. lol.

Compared to the nutcase that is Trump TK is a puppy. Trump has committed countless white collar crimes and never spent a day in jail. White collar criminals for the most part don't go to jail even when caught stealing millions. They pay a small fine and that is that.


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## backstreets-trans (Aug 16, 2015)

transporter007 said:


> Reading is fundamental:
> "reportedly planning" (reported by whom? Disgruntled Uber driver? Planning?)
> 
> Bwahahahaha!!!!
> ...


I guess you're another one of those fake news types. Someone tells you something and you do no research on your own and just keep believing what you want. I'll post more for the other who might read this thread but I'm sure you're a lost cause.

https://www.businessinsider.com/travis-kalanick-just-received-a-14-billion-check-2018-1


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## iheartuber (Oct 31, 2015)

getawaycar said:


> So what?
> 
> If I had a quarter for each time a CEO has verbally abused an employee or even goes into a fit of rage on someone who works for them, I would be as rich as TK. lol.
> 
> Compared to the nutcase that is Trump TK is a puppy. Trump has committed countless white collar crimes and never spent a day in jail. White collar criminals for the most part don't go to jail even when caught stealing millions. They pay a small fine and that is that.


Trump spent decades learning the real estate development biz in New York City. TK is a tech snowflake. No comparison.



backstreets-trans said:


> I guess you're another one of those fake news types. Someone tells you something and you do no research on your own and just keep believing what you want. I'll post more for the other who might read this thread but I'm sure you're a lost cause.
> 
> https://www.businessinsider.com/travis-kalanick-just-received-a-14-billion-check-2018-1


So if TK is worth $4.8 Billion, $1.4 is real money and the rest is stock in uber which may or may not someday be totally worthless


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## getawaycar (Jul 10, 2017)

iheartuber said:


> Trump spent decades learning the real estate development biz in New York City. TK is a tech snowflake. No comparison.


Unlike Kalinick, Trump is currently under investigation by his own DOJ and FBI for fraud and treason, a crime that carries the death penalty. You are right. No comparison.


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## kcdrvr15 (Jan 10, 2017)

time to say goodnight, the trump bashers are staying up late tonight.


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## heynow321 (Sep 3, 2015)

iheartuber said:


> Hey buddy, I'm no fan of TK but let's tell the truth here. The reason why TK is worth $4.8billion is because he owns x amount of shares of uber stock and Uber is currently valued at $72 Billion. He doesn't actually have $4.8 Billion as a check from uber. If the day should ever comes where uber goes public he will slowly be able to cash out (he can't do it all at once) but that ipo looks real tough to me, IMHO
> 
> HOWEVER, if Travis were smart he would have gone to any bank 5 years ago, gotten himself billions in loans using his Uber stake as collateral and invested that money in actual income-producing ventures (like real estate) and from that he would have gotten actual money not just "value on paper"
> 
> In a related comment, the reason why uber loses billions is because they treat their drivers like crap, drivers quit, and then they have to spend a lot to recruit new drivers. That's an oversimplified way of explaining it.


$40 billion. It's valued at $40 billion


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## iheartuber (Oct 31, 2015)

heynow321 said:


> $40 billion. It's valued at $40 billion


wikipedia said $72 billion. Must not have updated it lately


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## heynow321 (Sep 3, 2015)

this was the last time the equity "traded". https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...gest-shareholder-as-deal-closes-idUSKBN1F72WL

The deal includes a large purchase of shares from existing Uber investors and employees at a discounted valuation for the company of $*48 billion*, a 30 percent drop from Uber's most recent valuation of $68 billion.


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