The smartest way to invest in self-driving isn’t Tesla

This week, Uber announced a new partnership with Rivian to roll out tens of thousands of electric robotaxis on its platform over time.

And more importantly… Uber isn’t treating autonomy like an experiment anymore.

Management is now calling self-driving cars a core growth driver.

Because for years, autonomy sat on the sidelines. A nice “what if” story. Something for the future.

Now it’s moving to the center of the business.

Think about what that means…

Fewer human drivers over time. Lower costs per ride. Higher margins. And a platform that gets stronger as more autonomous fleets plug into it.

Uber becomes the place where every robotaxi company goes to find riders.

Investors are starting to notice. The stock is up about 10% in the last 30 days. It still trades around $76… roughly 26% below analyst targets near $103… and about 55% below estimated fair value.

But isn’t really about Rivian.

Uber is locking in its position at the center of the self-driving economy.

And if this rollout actually scales… it could completely change how you think about Uber’s future profits.

Because the next phase of this story isn’t just about robotaxis…

Uber might be the single best way to invest in the self-driving boom—without building a single car.

Self-driving cars and Uber are the perfect match.

You’ve surely heard about Waymo by now. It’s Alphabet’s (GOOG) self-driving car service.

In San Francisco, the cars are everywhere now. At this point, spotting one of those white driverless Jaguars is as common as seeing a taxi. Ask around and almost everyone has tried it… or wants to.

And this isn’t just a San Francisco story anymore.

Waymo has expanded into multiple cities including Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Austin. It’s now doing hundreds of thousands of paid rides per week across its network. That’s a huge jump from just a couple years ago when this was still early-stage.

Austin, though, is where things get really interesting.

Demand there has exploded. Early data suggests Waymo’s Austin rollout ramped faster than any previous city. More rides, quicker adoption, and stronger repeat usage.

So what’s different?

Simple.

You can book a Waymo inside the Uber app.

That tiny tweak changes everything.

Uber has over 150 million monthly active users. People don’t think twice. They open the app, tap, and go. It’s muscle memory at this point.

Getting someone to download a brand-new app, enter their card details, and trust a robot driver? That’s friction.

Uber removes that friction completely.

And it’s working.

In Austin, Waymo robotaxis are already estimated to account for a meaningful and growing share of Uber rides. Some reports suggest it’s approaching the high teens percentage of total trips in certain.

And Uber collects a fee on every single one.

No drivers. No cars. Just pure platform economics.

Remember when Uber tried to build its own robotaxi?

It lost over a billion dollars on it. Then, Uber made a smart pivot.

In 2020, Uber sold its self-driving division. That let Uber offload the high R&D costs and focus on what it does best: running the platform that connects drivers and passengers.

Waymo isn’t the only self-driving company using Uber’s platform. Serve Robotics (SERV), Cartken, and Avride make box-shaped delivery robots. You may have seen them driving on sidewalks delivering Uber Eats.

Uber’s CEO has said he would “love” to bring Tesla robotaxis onto Uber’s platform once they are proven safe, but no Uber–Tesla partnership has been announced. For now, Tesla appears focused on building its own robotaxi network, while Uber is partnering with other autonomous vehicle players like Waymo, Rivian, Lucid, Nuro, and Volkswagen.

Uber’s approach is genius. Guess where every self-driving company will want to list? On the Uber app, instantly connected to 150 million customers worldwide.

Self-driving  infrastructure.

In Austin, Uber is building maintenance hubs where autonomous vehicles can get fixed and cleaned…

Charging stations for electric robotaxis…

And operational centers to coordinate fleets, optimize routes, and reduce downtime.

This means Uber won’t only collect fees from self-driving cars, but also from robotaxi companies looking to manage their fleets.

Today, Uber Technologies is consistently profitable, throwing off real cash, and running leaner than ever. Growth has cooled from its early days—but it’s still compounding revenue at a strong ~15–20% clip.

It’s the only ride-hailing stock to own.

Compare Uber’s five-year chart to rival Lyft (LYFT):

The self-driving car megatrend is notoriously hard to invest in. Uber is the ultimate self-driving car stock, hiding in plain sight. Two years from now, the public will realize this in hindsight.

Now is your chance to buy it before the crowd catches on.

Uber (UBER) has a Disruption Score of 2. Click here to learn how we calculate the Disruption Score.