February 23, 2025 – Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of global ride-sharing giant Uber, has revealed that Tesla’s Elon Musk is unwilling to integrate the electric carmaker’s planned autonomous taxi service into shared mobility platforms. This suggests that Uber could potentially become a competitor to Tesla in the future.
During an interview with Bloomberg on Friday, Khosrowshahi stated, “I’ve had several conversations with Musk. They prefer to develop this project independently, so in a way, we and Waymo will be competing with Tesla in Austin. The future is uncertain, but we still hope to collaborate with Tesla.”
Khosrowshahi further noted that having Uber serve as a platform for Tesla owners would be “highly economically beneficial.” He explained, “We can generate demand for the autonomous driving ecosystem, and this demand often fluctuates significantly.”
In recent years, Uber executives have increasingly emphasized the company’s autonomous driving strategy during earnings calls and other public forums. Since 2023, Uber has partnered with over ten automakers and invested in multiple autonomous technology companies.
However, some Wall Street investors have expressed concerns about the business models of Uber and its rival Lyft, which currently rely on quickly matching a large number of human drivers with passengers.
Despite these concerns, Uber plans to launch an autonomous ride service in Austin next month, partnered with Waymo. The company also intends to expand the service to Atlanta this summer. Meanwhile, Waymo is gradually covering key markets like San Francisco and Miami by offering driverless rides through its consumer app.
