Uber CEO Travis Kalanick discusses self
Travis Kalanick
Travis Kalanick has to get Uber's bet on self-driving cars right.
"It starts with understanding that the world is going to go self-driving and autonomous "  he  told Business Insider in an interview.
"So if that's happening  what would happen if we weren't a part of that future? If we weren't part of the autonomy thing? Then the future passes us by basically  in a very expeditious and efficient way "  he  said.
These are big  bold  and aggressive moves characteristic of the Uber that has already changed how millions get around in cities across the globe. But they also show the growing existential threat that  Kalanick  feels if  his  company doesn't wake up to the impending revolution in transportation.
And  he 's not willing to cede any ground to giants with hundreds of billions of dollars in the bank  like Apple or Google.
"If we are not tied for first  then the person who is in first  or the entity that's in first  then rolls out a ride-sharing network that is far cheaper or far higher-quality than Uber's  then Uber is no longer a thing "  Kalanick  said.
Business Insider spoke to  Kalanick  about what an Uber that relies on self-driving cars looks like â and what will happen to all of those drivers who tote people around if this is its future.
 Kalanick : I think it starts with understanding that the world is going to go self-driving and autonomous. Because  well  a million fewer people are going to die a year. Traffic in all cities will be gone. Significantly reduced pollution and trillions of hours will be given back to people â quality of life goes way up. Once you go  "All right  there's a lot of upsides there" and you have folks like the folks in Mountain View  [California ] a few different companies working hard on this problem  this thing is going to happen.
 Kalanick : That is the trillion-dollar question  and I wish I had an answer for you on that one  but I don't. What I know is that I can't be wrong. Right? I have to make sure that I'm ready when it's ready or that I'm making it ready. So  I have to be tied for first at the least.
 Kalanick : No  I don't. I think we're catching up. Look at some of the folks and how long they've been working on it. Lots of respect for an area that they've pioneered  and we've got to do some catch-up. And that's OK  but it means we gotta wake up early and we're going to bed late.
 Kalanick : Isn't that the thing? [Laughs] I could give you self-driving nirvana if it's in the desert  there's no oncoming traffic and there are no pedestrians. I can do it right now. The problem is I don't think I could take you anywhere that you wanted to go. [Laughs] So  that's just the state of technology.
 Kalanick : Well  it's not about whether I think it is â it's that it has to be. So  if we are not tied for first  then the person who is in first  or the entity that's in first  then rolls out a ride-sharing network that is far cheaper or far higher-quality than Uber's  then Uber is no longer a thing.
 Kalanick : I wish I had the exact timeline. If you had the exact timeline  then it would mean everything was deterministic  that you knew exactly what needed to be built  and you could sort of logically figure it out. That is not the case. We just don't know all the things. There are still things to be invented. But this is a years thing  not a decade thing. But how many? Shoot  I don't know  but I'm going to be hustling to get it out there.
 Kalanick : The first part is that the timescale is pretty long. We've got income opportunities today and we got ways of serving the city today. That's part 1.
 Kalanick : It'll be city by city  but I promise you we will go to all of them.
Travis Kalanick has to get Uber's bet on self-driving cars right.
"It starts with understanding that the world is going to go self-driving and autonomous "  he  told Business Insider in an interview.
"So if that's happening  what would happen if we weren't a part of that future? If we weren't part of the autonomy thing? Then the future passes us by basically  in a very expeditious and efficient way "  he  said.
These are big  bold  and aggressive moves characteristic of the Uber that has already changed how millions get around in cities across the globe. But they also show the growing existential threat that  Kalanick  feels if  [TGT]  [TGT]   company doesn't wake up to the impending revolution in transportation.
And   [TGT]  's not willing to cede any ground to giants with hundreds of billions of dollars in the bank  like Apple or Google.
"If we are not tied for first  then the person who is in first  or the entity that's in first  then rolls out a ride-sharing network that is far cheaper or far higher-quality than Uber's  then Uber is no longer a thing "  Kalanick  said.
Business Insider spoke to  Kalanick  about what an Uber that relies on self-driving cars looks like â and what will happen to all of those drivers who tote people around if this is its future.
 Kalanick : I think it starts with understanding that the world is going to go self-driving and autonomous. Because  well  a million fewer people are going to die a year. Traffic in all cities will be gone. Significantly reduced pollution and trillions of hours will be given back to people â quality of life goes way up. Once you go  "All right  there's a lot of upsides there" and you have folks like the folks in Mountain View  [California ] a few different companies working hard on this problem  this thing is going to happen.
  [TGT]  : That is the trillion-dollar question  and I wish I had an answer for you on that one  but I don't. What I know is that I can't be wrong. Right? I have to make sure that I'm ready when it's ready or that I'm making it ready. So  I have to be tied for first at the least.
 Kalanick : No  I don't. I think we're catching up. Look at some of the folks and how long they've been working on it. Lots of respect for an area that they've pioneered  and we've got to do some catch-up. And that's OK  but it means we gotta wake up early and we're going to bed late.
  [TGT]  : Isn't that the thing? [Laughs] I could give you self-driving nirvana if it's in the desert  there's no oncoming traffic and there are no pedestrians. I can do it right now. The problem is I don't think I could take you anywhere that you wanted to go. [Laughs] So  that's just the state of technology.
  [TGT]  : Well  it's not about whether I think it is â it's that it has to be. So  if we are not tied for first  then the person who is in first  or the entity that's in first  then rolls out a ride-sharing network that is far cheaper or far higher-quality than Uber's  then Uber is no longer a thing.
 Kalanick : I wish I had the exact timeline. If you had the exact timeline  then it would mean everything was deterministic  that you knew exactly what needed to be built  and you could sort of logically figure it out. That is not the case. We just don't know all the things. There are still things to be invented. But this is a years thing  not a decade thing. But how many? Shoot  I don't know  but I'm going to be hustling to get it out there.
 Kalanick : The first part is that the timescale is pretty long. We've got income opportunities today and we got ways of serving the city today. That's part 1.
 Kalanick : It'll be city by city  but I promise you we will go to all of them.