Firing Travis Kalanick will go down as one of the worst board decisions of all time. Sure the IPO went well… but the decision by Dara to gut their autonomy (AI division) is unforgivable.
Nic Cruz Patane
 @niccruzpatane
Nov 6
R.I.P Uber. Tesla Robotaxi is over 5 times cheaper than UberX in Austin, TX (without factoring in tips).

Nov 6, 2025 · 9:55 PM UTC

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Replying to @JesseTinsley
I was in said AI division up until when Dara spun it off…. I honestly don’t think he had a choice as a newly public company CEO. The spinoff was a foregone conclusion once they went public. Isn’t the only public company needing to make short term optimizations. So the Gurley “just go public bro” camp oversimplifies things IMO. It’s complicated
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Interesting. What was the reason? How much was atg burning annually? Now it seems it would be far more expensive. But then again I think if TK was In charge similar to Elon I don’t think he makes that concession.
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Replying to @JesseTinsley
Well when you fly a G6 across the globe to go to a brothel with your boys/executive team, it’s time for a new executive staff no matter how talented they are.
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Wait what? I’m not sure I follow.
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Replying to @JesseTinsley
Uber was embroiled in one scandal after another at that time. They had no choice. His only chance to survive would have been to have the stronghold on control that Zuck had at FB, which he did not have
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They still can fix it. Huge market cap lots of cash and stock to deploy. Better invest heavily into ai or acquire a company or two.
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Replying to @JesseTinsley
why would uber build their own ai ? its a game of partnerships and distribution for things like waymo and shipping trucks.
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Better have a deep partnership with Waymo or someone else then.
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Replying to @JesseTinsley
Innovation at the company died that day.
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They were so far ahead of everyone else. Basically Uber ATG, cruse and Waymo competing for autonomous vehicles. I’d never bet against Elon but Elon’s board also didn’t fire him and if they did I guarantee Tesla isnt what it is today.
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Replying to @JesseTinsley
No commentary on the decision to gut Autonony, but the Tesla comparison here is off because Tesla is very, very obviously running those tests at a massive loss, just to get enough customer miles
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No doubt it’s going to be expensive. But as we will see in the not so distant future it’s existential.
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Replying to @JesseTinsley
uber is cooked, they have zero advantages left in the world of autonomy.
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Not too late but as my other post suggest their competitors like DoorDash are acquiring the best companies. Uber is focused on “organic” growth which in 2025 is dumb. The pace paradox with ai makes speed king once again. Anyone acting slow to your point is cooked.
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Replying to @JesseTinsley
He had no choice when interest rates rose
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no choice? I would have gutted G&A long before AI...
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Replying to @JesseTinsley
Uber is a much stronger business now. You can see this by the financials. Should they have kept Travis as an innovator - Yes probably
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Agreed but the answer is yes definitely. He built one of the most successful companies of our generation… it would have been nice to see him see it through.
Replying to @JesseTinsley
the bet is that ride share companies will go to Uber because of distribution
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Just like Google has distribution across chrome, YouTube, Gmail? I mean what is distribution? I’m Google and just buy Lyft + Waymo and wave goodbye to Uber?
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Replying to @JesseTinsley
Long live Bill Gurley...and Benchmark...no amount of books or podcasts can change the role benchmark played in building huge brands with very little actual value and their habit of backstabbing Founders...
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That’s why no founder with any other choice or sense would ever take money from them. I know I wouldn’t take their money personally. Would politely decline the meeting entirely.
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Replying to @JesseTinsley @WholeMarsBlog
@grok: Who is Travis and when was he fired?
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