With Lyft Nipping at Its Heels, Uber Races Toward IPO
*By Bridgette Webb*
Dara Khosrowshahi marked his first anniversary as Uber's CEO by addressing ride safety on Wednesday at an event in New York City, where he debuted a string of new features. It's the latest in a series of changes the relatively-new chief has introduced after a cascade of PR nightmares that pushed founder CEO Travis Kalanick out the door.
But Andrew Hawkins, transportation reporter for The Verge, said there's still serious work to be done, and chief among those efforts should be plans to stop harassment.
"In terms of Uber's internal culture over the last 12 months or so, there is still issue with harassment, employees feeling that top-level executives aren't responding to issues of racial and gender harassment," Hawkins said Wednesday in an interview on Cheddar.
"It's not clear that \[Khosrowshahi's\] main task of righting the ship, correcting Uber's toxic work culture, has been a 100 percent success."
Among the features Khosrowshahi unveiled Wednesday was an emergency button for drivers in case of an accident and a hands-free way to interact with the app while driving. Drivers in 39 states will also now have the ability to start an insurance claim through the app.
The updates come as the company is prepping for an IPO, which Khosrowshahi said is on track for next year.
Uber recently selected Nelson Chai, who as a former banker and New York Stock Exchange exec is well-versed in the IPO process, as its new CFO. The position had been vacant for almost three years.
Joshua Franklin, private equity and IPO correspondent for Reuters, said it's very likely that Uber will make it to market by its intended goal, but it might not get there before chief U.S. rival Lyft.
"From a Lyft perspective, you can get out front and tell your story. You do get a chance to define the market," Franklin in a separate interview on Cheddar Wednesday.
He added that the criteria for a ride-sharing company's success is still undetermined.
"No one knows what the performance metrics are going to be for ride-sharing," he said. "Someone can come out and say it needs to be dollars per ride or repeat visits per ride, per customer."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/ubers-path-to-an-ipo).
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
Starbucks’ AI barista aims to speed service and improve experience. Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune Business Editor, explains its impact on workers and customers.
