An interview with Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi on autonomous cars, lobbying regulators to get more EVs on the road, flying taxis, climate goals, and more
“We think that the future for Uber is electric, shared, autonomous and ultimately multimodal as well,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says on this week's episode of Zero. X: @business X: @business : “We think that the future for Uber is electric, shared, autonomous and ultimately multimodal as well,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says on this week's episode of Zero https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Context & Ripple Effects
Uber is articulating a transport-platform thesis rather than a single-product roadmap: electrification, shared rides, autonomy and additional modes are presented as mutually reinforcing parts of one network.
The position bridges Uber’s earlier expansion into group-trip and itinerary booking tools and later coverage of it as an aggregator rather than a self-driving developer. That distinction matters: Uber can seek supply across vehicle types without needing to own every transport asset or autonomy stack.
First-order effects
- Uber’s policy engagement ties its climate positioning to rules that could make electric vehicles more available to drivers using its marketplace.
- Autonomous vehicles and flying taxis are framed as prospective supply modes for Uber, broadening the company’s strategic remit beyond conventional ride-hailing.
Second-order effects
- Fleet operators, vehicle partners and autonomy providers gain a clearer incentive to work with Uber as a demand and distribution layer, rather than only as a ride-hailing app.
- Uber’s push for EV-friendly policy places its platform interests alongside climate-policy debates, making regulatory outcomes more consequential to driver supply and trip fulfillment.
Third-order effects
- If this model holds, urban-mobility platforms may compete increasingly on their ability to coordinate mixed fleets—human-driven, electric and autonomous—rather than solely on rider acquisition.
- The longer-term industry question is whether aggregation remains the durable role: subsequent coverage of Uber’s everything-app ambitions and autonomous-car investments suggests the company is testing how far a marketplace can extend without owning all underlying assets.
The trend: Ride-hailing platforms are evolving into multimodal mobility aggregators that use regulation, partner supply and software distribution to incorporate electrified and autonomous transport.