Uber Shares Climb 6.5% Following Waymo Self-Driving Car Announcement

Uber Technologies (UBER) announced on Friday that Waymo’s self-driving cars will soon be available for rides in Austin and Atlanta through the Uber app. The revelation, which indicates an extension of Uber and Waymo’s relationship, caused the stock to soar.

According to a business announcement, Uber users in Austin and Atlanta will be able to hail an autonomous Waymo Jaguar vehicle from within the app beginning early in 2019. Since the company’s October launch, Uber’s collaboration with Waymo has enabled travel for tens of thousands of users in the Arizona city, according to a press statement from Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.

Soon, riders in Austin and Atlanta will be able to experience that same mobility magic, through a new fleet of dedicated autonomous Waymo vehicles, available only on Uber,

Khosrowshahi

Uber’s shares increased 6.5% to settle at 72.48 on the stock market today. The shares recovered their 21-day line after a decline that started late last week. Uber’s stock has gained 17% so far this year, due to its early Friday surge. That is somewhat behind the S&P 500’s 17.8% gain. Uber’s stock increased by almost 150% the previous year.

Uber Partners with Waymo, Scaling Autonomous Cars as Tesla Eyes Robotaxi Market

Uber has partnered with other companies centered around driverless cars, including Waymo. Uber used to make large investments in developing its own driverless cars. However, its approach has changed, and it is now working with manufacturers of self-driving cars.

Only a few weeks before Tesla (TSLA) is anticipated to have an event outlining its plans for a robotaxi service, Waymo and Uber have expanded their relationship. Uber’s stock has been under pressure for most of the year due to Elon Musk’s plan to introduce a robotaxi service using self-driving Tesla cars.

With the volumes and the higher utilization that we can drive through the marketplace versus stand-alone, we think they can earn their capital back both on investment and earn a return on capital on the vehicles that they have. And we’re seeing it live right now in the marketplace.

Khosrowshahi

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