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Alphabet claims Uber was hiding the self-driving tech that it allegedly copied

recode.net

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Re: Alphabet claims Uber was hiding the self-driving tech that it allegedly copied

#11

Post by kartan »

yeukhon wrote: post #8
nojvek wrote: post #5

I see Uber as our generation's Groupon. Wildly overvalued slowly heading to a cliff.

They do have revenue, but not profit, lost $3B last year despite seeing growth in revenue . The business goal (the product itself) is 10000x times better than Groupon. Car service is more direct. Groupon isn't a bad idea either, but the experience isn't as direct and as Uber. You see, emailing me / texting me offers is great, but I don't have time to scroll down and read the same kind of email everyday. If instead at…

> The business goal (the product itself) is 10000x times better than Groupon.

To illegally set up a non-compliant taxi service that doesn't pay taxes, that doesn't pay minimum wage to its employees, that has been banned already in several countries, that ignores human safety introducing illegally self-driving cars, it is not a very good business model.

Re: Alphabet claims Uber was hiding the self-driving tech that it allegedly copied

#12

Post by sprafa »

sebleon wrote: post #6
SCAQTony wrote: post #4

In the past year have we ever gone a single month without hearing about malfeasance, exploitation or sexual harassment within that company? April alone has tabloid month! Perhaps Uber's CEO should resign so the company can get some breathing room and reboot their brand.

While the news makes sensationalist headlines and online outrage, sadly it doesn't seem like consumers care about Uber's behavior.

In most of the world there are no choices. In London there's either Uber or Addison Lee, but the price is lower on Uber. When everyone is forced to play for profits plenty of companies will emerge quickly but for now Uber just burns VC money so they can dominate the market and everyone else stays away (because no one else has free money to burn).

We'll find out soon enough whether burning VC money for market penetration was a good idea or just a SV folly.

Re: Alphabet claims Uber was hiding the self-driving tech that it allegedly copied

#13

Post by Normal_gaussian »

sebleon wrote: post #6
SCAQTony wrote: post #4

In the past year have we ever gone a single month without hearing about malfeasance, exploitation or sexual harassment within that company? April alone has tabloid month! Perhaps Uber's CEO should resign so the company can get some breathing room and reboot their brand.

While the news makes sensationalist headlines and online outrage, sadly it doesn't seem like consumers care about Uber's behavior.

Uber is in my city (UK), no competing services are.

Traditional taxis are a huge PITA here, 30+ minute arrival times if they even arrive, pretty high prices compared to the rest of the country.

Plenty of people are complaining about Uber here, but they are reliable.

Re: Alphabet claims Uber was hiding the self-driving tech that it allegedly copied

#15

Post by yawaworht12 »

mstank wrote: post #2

Can't say I'm shocked to see Uber's dishonesty here. From all the other claims against them (Lyft and sexual harassment) it seems like this type of behavior is standard operating procedure. This culture is set from the top. It's only a matter of time that Travis will step down. Sooner the better so they can start working on improving integrity throughout the organization. In the 90's, Microsoft was skewered for a lot…

Based on what proof. The article provided nothing in the way of evidence, just Google's claim. They could claim anything. Since when did HN stop exercising healthy skepticism?

Re: Alphabet claims Uber was hiding the self-driving tech that it allegedly copied

#16

Post by bestnameever »

bichiliad wrote: post #7

I'm a bit confused — has anything developed since the lawsuit was filed in late February[0]? [0]: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3474305-1-Main.html

Yes, you're actually commenting on a thread which is discussing the latest updates.

From the article: "In the latest filing, Alphabet says Uber hid a lidar device Levandowski designed based on these files. The company says Uber obfuscated the existence of a piece of lidar technology at an April 12 hearing."

https://www.recode.net/2017/4/21/15390074/alphabet-uber-hidi...

Re: Alphabet claims Uber was hiding the self-driving tech that it allegedly copied

#17

Post by [deleted] »

kartan wrote: post #11
yeukhon wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They do have revenue, but not profit, lost $3B last year despite seeing growth in revenue . The business goal (the product itself) is 10000x times better than Groupon. Car service is more direct. Groupon isn't a bad idea either, but the experience isn't as direct and as Uber. You see, emailing me / texting me offers is great, but I don't have time to scroll down and read the same kind of email everyday. If instead at…

> The business goal (the product itself) is 10000x times better than Groupon. To illegally set up a non-compliant taxi service that doesn't pay taxes, that doesn't pay minimum wage to its employees, that has been banned already in several countries, that ignores human safety introducing illegally self-driving cars, it is not a very good business model.

[deleted]

Re: Alphabet claims Uber was hiding the self-driving tech that it allegedly copied

#19

Post by rys »

yawaworht12 wrote: post #15
mstank wrote: post #2

Can't say I'm shocked to see Uber's dishonesty here. From all the other claims against them (Lyft and sexual harassment) it seems like this type of behavior is standard operating procedure. This culture is set from the top. It's only a matter of time that Travis will step down. Sooner the better so they can start working on improving integrity throughout the organization. In the 90's, Microsoft was skewered for a lot…

Based on what proof. The article provided nothing in the way of evidence, just Google's claim. They could claim anything. Since when did HN stop exercising healthy skepticism?

Based on Uber producing the device in question eventually. It's in the article.

Re: Alphabet claims Uber was hiding the self-driving tech that it allegedly copied

#20

Post by yeukhon »

kartan wrote: post #11
yeukhon wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They do have revenue, but not profit, lost $3B last year despite seeing growth in revenue . The business goal (the product itself) is 10000x times better than Groupon. Car service is more direct. Groupon isn't a bad idea either, but the experience isn't as direct and as Uber. You see, emailing me / texting me offers is great, but I don't have time to scroll down and read the same kind of email everyday. If instead at…

> The business goal (the product itself) is 10000x times better than Groupon. To illegally set up a non-compliant taxi service that doesn't pay taxes, that doesn't pay minimum wage to its employees, that has been banned already in several countries, that ignores human safety introducing illegally self-driving cars, it is not a very good business model.

Well I am not saying it is ethical or not, but I clearly said it's "business goal", not "business model".
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