Uber's gig-worker drivers have some stiff competition from self-driving cars when it comes to productivity.
So far, Uber has started offering rides in Waymo's autonomous vehicles in Atlanta and Austin.
"In both cases, the average Waymo is busier than 99% of our drivers in terms of completed trips per day," Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said during the company's earnings call on Wednesday.
That's great news for the future of self-driving cars on Uber's app, Khosrowshahi said, since it provides a proof point for the banks and other investors that the company will eventually need to finance its rollout of AVs. Besides Waymo, Uber is also investing $300 million in electric vehicle-maker Lucid and working with software startup Nuro to bring more AVs exclusively to Uber's platform in the US in 2026.
"Once we prove out the revenue model — how much these cars can generate on a per-day basis — there will be plenty of financing to go around," he said.
For now, though, Uber's joint effort with Waymo is still small in scope. In Atlanta, Uber hopes to "expand to hundreds of vehicles in the coming quarters," Khosrowshahi said in prepared remarks on Wednesday. And in Austin, Uber's service area with Waymo covers about 90 square miles.
"This is physical-world AI, and we think it's going to be a huge trend going forward," Khosrowshahi said of Uber's AV ventures in an interview on CNBC.
In Austin, Uber is now competing with Tesla, which launched a limited robotaxi service in June with Tesla safety employees sitting in the front passenger seat.
Khosrowshahi told CNBC that more companies offering rides in self-driving cars will improve traffic safety, given the potential for AV technology to make better driving choices than humans.
"All of this competition in autonomous is going to create safer streets, and we're going to be a big part of that," he said.
Human drivers and AVs will likely coexist in Uber's network for the next decade, Khosrowshahi said in January.
Some Uber drivers told Business Insider after Uber, Lucid, and Nuro announced their partnership last month that they want to see more details on Uber's plans before looking for a new gig.
Some AVs still struggle to navigate potholes and other challenges on the road, they said. And Uber's human drivers are responsible for vehicle costs like maintenance — liabilities that someone else might have to take on with the rise of AVs.
Uber is considering various models for owning and managing the self-driving cars that it adds to its network in the future, from finding partners who can own fleets of cars to splitting fares with individual owners — similar to what it already does with its human drivers.
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