It's been a rough week (month?) for Uber:
If it's not too late, perhaps Travis Kalanick could rectify things with a good coach. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick's Leadership Problem | Fox Business
I am not sure there is any coach that would be effective in this culture.
To date, the company has been ultra successful.
Each hurdle has been overcome and Uber has emerged stronger and bolder.
The "benefits" to ignoring conventional wisdom appear to look too attractive to make it worthwhile to bow to pressure.
Until something happens that truly has a serious financial impact and that causes investors to demand a change in approach, the crew at the helm here is likely to keep rolling the dice--so far luck has been on their side.
I don't see anything different in what Uber did here than create a radar detector and use it as such.
There is even controversy about whether all the negative news is affecting Uber's value which was estimated at $66 billion last December.
One interesting point that has received little public attention is the matter of Uber stock options for employees. Many claim they have not been able to take advantage of this benefit and the matter is under active discussion.
Here is a pretty pessimistic assessment of the outlook for Uber.
The short version is:
Kalanick has pushed an enterprise on little more than a grandiose bet: that Uber could exist on a playing field of its own with few regulations, carving a path to financial salvation by dominating the taxi market simply through the sheer force of investors with bottomless pockets. It isn’t working.
Looks as if the evil genius is in deep trouble. Similar to Enron--he thought he was the smartest guy in the room, or the self-driving car universe.
The judge seems to feel comfortable making strong statements about the case.
"A U.S. judge on Wednesday warned Uber Technologies Inc it could face a court injunction that would bar a key Uber executive from working on its self-driving car project, in a high-profile case filed by Alphabet Inc's Waymo unit.
The litigation pits two Silicon Valley giants against each other over technology at the heart of a potential revolution in the auto industry.
U.S. District Judge William Alsup said evidence amassed by Waymo to bolster its case of being robbed was extraordinary.
"I've never seen a record this strong in 42 years," Alsup said. A hearing on Waymo's request for an injunction on Uber's self-driving program is scheduled for May."