Japanese carmaker Toyota is investing $500m in Uber, it confirmed late last night, valuing Uber at more than $70bn as part of a deal to work together on driverless cars.
So, the company is said to be worth $70bn? A company that has had to postpone its IPO because of crippling debt !!!
Apart from the plethora of expensive court settlements, Uber’s expensive driverless car programme has been plagued by delays after it caused a pedestrian death earlier this year.
The world’s largest automaker is flinging big bets around in the hope that something sticks. It might be better off doing what it knows best.
Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday it’s deepening ties with Uber Technologies Inc., investing $500 million and making Sienna minivans equipped with the tech company’s self-driving software. A yet-to-be determined third party will operate that fleet. One day earlier, four Toyota-affiliated parts companies announced a joint venture to develop software that manages components for automated driving. A few months before that, Toyota put $1 billion into Southeast Asia’s largest ride-hailing provider, Grab, the largest such investment by an automaker.
From chunky stakes in mobility and autonomy to financing partnerships and doubling down in China, the Japanese leader is splashing out on the future of the car. Increasingly, though, it looks like two Toyotas: One that remains squarely focused on cost-cutting and operating within the confines of a struggling world market, the other trying to spend its way out of the gloom.
This new deal will see Toyota and Uber working together on car safety systems for autonomous vehicles.
Last month, Uber chief operating officer Barney Harford made the statement to the media that the company was "not focused in the short-term" on profits, but was instead piling investment into driverless cars and its other businesses.
Another company that had a go-private failure and is now in a position where it will have to add to its debt to keep business going is Tesla. Unless it is able to turn its auto business profitable fast, it is going to have to raise massive funds again.
Bankers have already cut Tesla’s share price estimates after the debacle, although some investors were buoyed, claiming Tesla could be worth far more (eventually). Tesla shares fell as much as 5pc on Monday.
TAXI LEAKS EXTRA BIT : by Lenny Etheridge.
Gerald Gouriet QC's summary of Judge Arbuthnot's decisions concerning Uber, during Uber's London License Appeal.
With our courts compromised by the dollar, we are left to question the safety of our nation as a whole.
This country was lost on the playing fields of Eton.
It’s not all bad news though....
Taken from the Uber people Blog mainly (Uber drivers).
Now Uber is stuck. If the IPO fails to meet the needed value mark, Uber will have a huge problem with cash flow. Soft Bank and the rest that have carried Uber are no long willing to pump good money after bad. If Uber sells off the self driving unit, investors will dry up. Investors will not fund a cheap taxi company with billions in debt. The only hope for Uber is to have self drivers on the road and quickly. Not going to happen it appears.
Drivers have a window right now. If even 2 or 3 big markets go the direction of NYC, Uber will loose control of the drivers to the states and the laws that protect employees. The momentum will move state to state until Uber is toast
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