By Heather Somerville It’s one of the biggest bets going in the world of cars: Since May, General Motors (GM) and its Cruise self-driving car unit have landed €4.35bn in investment commitments from Japan’s SoftBank and Honda Motor to develop a robot taxi service that could safely navigate the city streets of San Francisco by… Continue reading General Motors bets €4.3bn on the long road to safe driverless taxi
Tag: Uber
Tesla ‘obviously’ plans to take on Uber and Lyft, says CEO Elon Musk
Tesla just posted a big earnings beat — Here's what three experts say investors should know
2 Hours Ago | 02:05
On a third-quarter earnings call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company “obviously” plans to jump into ride-hailing in the era of self-driving cars.
“Tesla will operate its own ride-hailing services and compete directly with Uber and Lyft, obviously.” Musk said.
Tesla's platform, which is not yet operational, will give customers the ability to “offer their car, add or subtract to the fleet at will,” Musk said. Tesla plans to run a company-owned fleet of autonomous vehicles to pick up passengers wherever or whenever there are not enough customer cars to be lent out, he said comparing this service to the peer-to-peer lodgings business of Airbnb.
Tesla, along with the rest of the automotive industry, is racing to develop true self-driving capabilities for its vehicles that go well beyond the company's current Autopilot offering.
Today's Autopilot is a “driver assistance” system that can handle some driving tasks but requires drivers to keep their hands on the wheel at all times. In the second quarter of 2018, Tesla announced that it was developing its own chips to increase the capability of the computer that enables Autopilot features in its vehicles.
Tesla sells a “full self-driving” option to customers who are willing to pay now and wait– but the option is “off-menu,” not listed on the car company's website.
While full self-driving tech is still in development, Tesla's newest Autopilot Navigate features will enable drivers to automatically change lanes, handle forks in the road and take highway exits along a planned route, according to Tesla VP of Engineering Stuart Bowers who spoke on the third-quarter earnings call alongside Musk.
Both Uber and Lyft are expected to go public, potentially next year.
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How Zoox plans to take on Uber and Lyft with its self-driving car
Start-up Zoox is working on making the roads safer with self-driving cars
12 Hours Ago | 06:11
Uber to bank London surcharge toward electric vehicles for its drivers
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Uber electric car
Uber announced Tuesday that it will levy a surcharge for its ride-hailing passengers in London. The goal: to get 20,000 drivers to go all-electric by the end of 2021, on the way to make every car using its ride-hailing app an electric vehicle in the smog- and congestion-prone city by 2025.
The surcharge, which is part of the company’s clean-air strategy announced in 2017, will go into effect in early 2019. It’s potentially as much an environmental image move as it is a response to ever-tightening rules governing the vehicle types that can pass through central London.
DON’T MISS: Uber urges Portland drivers to lease electric cars
Beginning early next year, Uber will charge riders about 19 cents (15 pence) extra per mile. That money will go directly into a piggy bank for the support of drivers looking to upgrade to an electric vehicle.
Uber app
Based on the average London trip, that will amount to an extra 58 cents per trip. And through that surcharge Uber hopes to raise $260 million (200 million pounds) over several years.
Uber is offering a significant amount of upgrade money. Every driver will be eligible for assistance in moving to an EV, but the level of assistance will be based on how many miles they’ve driven on the app. It’s anticipating that will add up to about $3,900 (3,000 pounds) for two years of driving—40 hours a week—or $5,800 (4,500 pounds) for three years.
CHECK OUT: London's $27 entry charge for pre-2016 diesel cars to start April 2019
The program complements Uber’s own diesel-scrappage scheme that aims to get 1,000 pre-Euro 4 diesel models—older, dirtier ones—off London streets and highways.
So far in the U.S., Uber’s strategies to electrify have been a bit different. Through a pilot program it calls EV Champions, it’s paying drivers up to $20 per week for driving electric—and giving riders a feel-good alert. Whether it will incentivize electric vehicles more or less effectively than the London program remains to be seen.
GM’s driverless car bet faces long road ahead
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – It’s one of the biggest bets going in the world of cars. A Cruise self-driving car, which is owned by General Motors Corp, is seen outside the company’s headquarters in San Francisco where it does most of its testing, in California, U.S., September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Heather Somerville Since May, General Motors… Continue reading GM’s driverless car bet faces long road ahead
Uber raises London fares to subsidise electric vehicles
The money, raised from 2019, will be earmarked to help drivers buy clean-air cars Go to Source
Building a Better App Experience For Carriers
Building a Better App Experience For Carriers New features and upgraded search functionality make it easier than ever to find the right load In an industry where every single load counts, we aim to take the headache and inefficiency out of what is often a complex and time-consuming process. By putting the power of Uber’s technology… Continue reading Building a Better App Experience For Carriers
Addison Lee and Oxbotica ink self-driving deal, will offer autonomous car services in London by 2021
After undertaking a year-long investigation with Ford and four other mobility specialists on how to build self-driving systems that integrate with London’s existing transport infrastructure, Addison Lee today is announcing the next step in its autonomous strategy. The on-demand ride company — which competes with black cabs, Uber and other car services — announced a… Continue reading Addison Lee and Oxbotica ink self-driving deal, will offer autonomous car services in London by 2021
Uber is developing an on-demand staffing business
Uber is reportedly developing a short-term staffing business to offer 1099 independent contractors for events and corporate functions, the Financial Times first reported. Dubbed Uber Works, the service would provide waiters, security guards and other temporary staffers to business partners, a source close to Uber told TechCrunch. Uber has been working on the project for… Continue reading Uber is developing an on-demand staffing business
Uber reportedly raises $2 billion in debut junk bond sale ahead of blockbuster IPO
Anindito Mukherjee | Getty Images
Dara Khosrowshahi, chief executive officer of Uber, looks on following a 2018 event in New Delhi, India.
Uber has raised $2 billion in a junk bond sale, according to a report, as it gears up for its 2019 stock market debut.
The ride-hailing firm raised $1.5 billion through the sale of eight-year notes with a yield of 8 percent — it had initially pitched $1 billion — and an additional $500 million by selling five-year notes with a yield of 7.5 percent in a private placement led by Morgan Stanley, according to the Financial Times.
Uber was not immediately available when contacted by CNBC; nor was Morgan Stanley. The FT said Uber had confirmed the sale's completion.
The embattled start-up is preparing for an initial public offering that media reports have noted could value it at more than $100 billion — far more than its last reported valuation of $72 billion, which it notched after a $500 million capital injection from Japanese carmaker Toyota. It is currently one of the most valuable privately held firms in the world.
The fundraising follows a separate report by the FT on Wednesday that said Uber has mulled the sale of minority stakes in its struggling self-driving unit, known as the Advanced Technologies Group.
“Shared self-driving cars will ultimately make transportation safer, more efficient, and more affordable for riders on the Uber network,” the company said in an emailed statement to CNBC in response to that report.
“Our team at the Advanced Technologies Group is wholly focused on building the safest self-driving technology out there, and we remain committed to supporting their efforts to make this self-driving future a reality.”
The autonomous driving unit suffered a major setback earlier this year after a fatal crash involving one of its driverless vehicles in Tempe, Arizona. It also ended a legal battle with Google's self-driving car division Waymo in February, with a settlement that saw Waymo take a 0.34 percent stake in the company worth $245 million at the time.
Uber's Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi said last month the firm is on track to launch its IPO next year and has no plans to sell the Advanced Technologies Group.
You can read the full FT report here.
Uber considers minority investors for self-driving car unit: Report
Uber Technologies Inc is considering selling minority stakes in its costly self-driving car unit as the ride-hailing company tries to address rising cost pressures ahead of its initial public offering, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. Uber received interest from potential investors and could spin off its Advanced Technologies Group into a separate business unit… Continue reading Uber considers minority investors for self-driving car unit: Report