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Can Uber Ever Deliver? Even After 4Q Cost Cuts, Uber Lost $4.5B in 2017

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Re: Can Uber Ever Deliver? Even After 4Q Cost Cuts, Uber Lost $4.5B in 2017

#111
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Capitalism is not "supposed to be" a race to the bottom and then the emergence of a single, monopolistic entity. That's far too simplistic. Price and value are a huge component of capitalism, yes, but the general idea isn't "price below what is sustainable by taking in massive amounts of funding until all of your competitors are sunk and then increase prices."

> but the general idea isn't "price below what is sustainable by taking in massive amounts of funding until all of your competitors are sunk and then increase prices." so there shouldn't be any startups then? because every startup is unsustainable at the beginning. every startup wants to beat its competition and emerge as the sole winner. every startup wants to raise prices and make more money. capitalism is an econo…

>because every startup is unsustainable at the beginning. every startup wants to beat its competition and emerge as the sole winner. every startup wants to raise prices and make more money.

With the idea that they will eventually become sustainable. And let's not pretend that manu (most?) startups are a massive cash sink-hole run by people who don't really know what they're doing. Regardless, if your startup's plan is to start cheap, grow their user base until they have a network effect, and then raise their prices significantly _and_ the product they offer can be easily replicated... then yes, that startup should probably not exist.

Re: Can Uber Ever Deliver? Even After 4Q Cost Cuts, Uber Lost $4.5B in 2017

#112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> then specifically what I'm referring to is operating with such low prices that rides are money-losers This is meaningless semantics. The business is growing and spending money to expand. That does not mean each ride is not priced profitably, or that each ride does not bring in more money than is spent providing that ride. It's just a more convoluted way of saying the business--at a high level--sells rides and is no…

I am capable of appreciating that such a circumstance is possible, but what I have read leads me to believe that's not what's happening, and instead Uber is charging prices that do not cover their costs, with the hope of achieving monopoly. Earlier series on the subject: https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2016/11/can-uber-ever-delive... > By contrast, in the hundred years since the first motorized taxi, there has been n…

Also the idea of money-losing customers is not exactly unfamiliar in tech companies in the first place. Surely people on HN are familiar with this.

Re: Can Uber Ever Deliver? Even After 4Q Cost Cuts, Uber Lost $4.5B in 2017

#113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> then specifically what I'm referring to is operating with such low prices that rides are money-losers This is meaningless semantics. The business is growing and spending money to expand. That does not mean each ride is not priced profitably, or that each ride does not bring in more money than is spent providing that ride. It's just a more convoluted way of saying the business--at a high level--sells rides and is no…

I am capable of appreciating that such a circumstance is possible, but what I have read leads me to believe that's not what's happening, and instead Uber is charging prices that do not cover their costs, with the hope of achieving monopoly. Earlier series on the subject: https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2016/11/can-uber-ever-delive... > By contrast, in the hundred years since the first motorized taxi, there has been n…

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