The battle is on between Tesla and Waymo!

Which company will come out on top in the autonomous vehicle race?

Fortunately, there’s one clear winner.

And its CEO just revealed a vision of the future that most investors aren’t ready for.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi sat down on stage at the All-In Summit to share insights that could reshape how we think about autonomous vehicles and mobility.

If you’re investing in technology or the AV space, this is a must-read.

Because the industry is heading in a direction most people haven’t even imagined.

Here’s what you need to know.

Uber’s Hybrid Approach Will Win

Companies like Tesla and Waymo may dominate headlines, but they can’t match Uber’s scale in every city.

Uber already has the riders.

It already has the demand.

Its hybrid model combines human drivers with AVs from multiple manufacturers, giving it a built-in advantage.

When an AV plugs into Uber’s network, it doesn’t have to wait around for work.

The next passenger is usually just a few minutes away, not sitting idle 15 minutes across town for a 10 minute trip.

That density of requests translates into higher utilization.

In other words, a greater percentage of miles driven are revenue-generating instead of wasted.

Dara put it bluntly: if companies want to maximize the return on their costly AV fleets, Uber is the most efficient platform to do it.

What’s The Big Difference Between Tesla And Waymo?

The race for autonomy is currently a battle between two very different philosophies.

Tesla is betting everything on cameras.

The upside? It’s cheaper. No expensive hardware like LIDAR or radar.

But it puts enormous pressure on the software to interpret every scenario correctly.

Waymo is taking the opposite approach.

Its vehicles are packed with cameras, radar, and LIDAR sensors.

That makes them more expensive, but the redundancy makes them safer.

Waymo also relies on high-definition maps to guide its cars.

These maps show what’s permanent – like lane markings, lights, and sidewalks – versus what changes, such as pedestrians or vehicles.

Five years ago, the hardware needed for Waymo’s approach looked like a non-starter.

LIDAR alone once cost $20,000–$30,000 per car.

Today, that same technology costs just $300–$500.

That collapse in hardware costs changes the game for Alphabet’s Waymo and others betting on sensor-heavy systems.

Are Driver Jobs About To Disappear?

Not anytime soon.

Dara was clear that for the next five to seven years, human drivers aren’t going anywhere.

Demand for rides and deliveries is so massive that Uber welcomes the extra supply AVs bring.

That’s good news for the stock. More rides/deliveries = more revenue for Uber.

In cities where AVs roll out, Uber balances things carefully.

They slow down the onboarding of new drivers so existing drivers can still earn well while AVs integrate smoothly.

Eventually, in 10–15 years, large-scale displacement of drivers is likely.

But for now, Uber needs both sides of the hybrid model.

A New Asset Class Is About To Emerge

Think about how Hilton and Marriott operate.

They don’t own their hotels. Financial backers do through private equity firms or REITs that anyone can buy on the stock market.

Dara sees the same model forming around vehicles.

Third-party fleet owners will explode. And investors will be able to buy into REIT-like structures that own AV fleets.

That’s an entirely new asset class born out of the AV revolution.

Autonomous Vehicles Are Just The Beginning

Most of the attention is focused on self-driving cars.

But Dara reminded investors that AVs are just the beginning.

Two areas could reshape the mobility landscape even further:

• Sidewalk delivery – Slow-moving autonomous robots already handle short-distance deliveries. These are already operating in places like Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and Austin. Serve Robotics (SERV) is a leader here.

• Drone delivery – Flying autonomous vehicles are designed for longer trips, especially in rural areas. Zipline, Amazon (AMZN), Walmart (WMT), and JD.com (JD) are at the front of this race.

Uber’s Business Model Is About To Explode

The beauty of Uber’s model is scale.

Uber doesn’t own the cars.

Uber doesn’t own the robots.

And drivers aren’t technically employees.

Yet hundreds of millions of people use the Uber platform worldwide.

That reach allows Uber to bolt on new services, expand into new categories, and keep taking a cut of every transaction.

Whether it’s human-driven cars, autonomous fleets, drone deliveries, or flying taxis, Uber controls the flow of people and goods.

That’s why I’ve recommended Uber before.

And it’s why I still believe Uber is a buy today.