Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 158) describes Uber’s legal department as not “particularly strong” which was “partially design” to increase Kalanick’s control. Isaac remarks that Yoo “would push back on Kalanick occasionally, but her fear of being ‘iced out’ kept her from getting in Kalanick’s face about every legal concern she had.” Isaac continues: “Yoo was often unable–and at times reluctant–to influence her boss. When she did decide to raise an issue with Kalanick, Travis regularly treated her concerns as just another annoyance, especially when they had to do with legal compliance.”
Copied Lyft’s shared ride feature and beat it to market
Uber learned that Lyft was planning a shared ride feature, where multiple independent passengers shared a single vehicle. Uber copied that feature, then announced its launch hours before Lyft’s announcement — making it look like Uber, rather than Lyft, had thought of this concept.
Source: Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 153)
Faked petitions in St. Louis
In a dispute with the Metropolitan Taxicab Commission in St. Louis, Uber’s local general manager staged a media stunt in which Uber employees delivered nine boxes supposedly filled with “1,000 PETITIONS” (according to their labels), purportedly indicating citizen support for Uber. But the boxes were actually filled with water bottles.
Source: Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 151)
High lobbying expenses to sway lawmakers
Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 149) describes Uber’s high lobbying expenses, including (at peak) tens of millions of dollars spent per year. At peak, Uber had almost 400 paid lobbyists across 44 states, exceeding the paid lobbying staffs of Amazon, Microsoft, and Walmart combined.
Paid costs associated with fines and impoundments
When in a dispute with Philadelphia transit regulators, Uber promised to pay any fines and other costs if drivers’ vehicles were impounded:
Uberx: Reminder: If you are ticketed by the PPA, CALL US at [number removed]. You have 100% of our support anytime you are on the road using Uber–we are here for you, and we will get you home safe. All costs associated will be covered by us.
Source: Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 148)
Pushed taxi and livery drivers to financial ruin
Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 146) summarizes the “financial ruin” that car services and taxis faced when Uber entered their market and destroyed the value of their permits and medallions. Quoting from driver Doug Schifter’s suicide note:
When the industry started in 1981, I averaged 40-50 hours. I cannot survive any longer with working 120 hours! I am not a Slave and I refuse to be one.”
Levandowski hired a lobbyist for autonomous vehicles without safety drivers
Then working at Google, Anthony Levandowski hired a lobbyist in Nevada to advocate for a law that allowed autonomous vehicles to operate without backup/safety drivers. Google didn’t know about this, and this was contrary to Google’s careful approach.
Source: Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 143)
Levandowski secretly sold then-employer Google equipment from his own company
Then working at Google, Anthony Levandowski had a startup on the side, 510 Systems. Without Google knowing, Levandowski and 510 sold Google technology for Google’s street-mapping project — using a middle-man so Google wouldn’t know who the seller was.
Source: Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 141)
Demanded harsh terms for Google Ventures investment
Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped reports harsh terms Uber demanded when Google Ventures wanted to invest:
Google Ventures staff had to come to Uber’s headquarters to pitch, rather than Uber traveling to Google to solicit funds.
Google Ventures had to fund the entire round of investment, $250 million — the largest amount Google Ventures had ever invested in any company, with no prospect of sharing with other firms.
Google Ventures had to accept Uber’s valuation at $3.5 billion. (A larger valuation meant their investment would buy a smaller slice of the company.)
Google Ventures would not receive a voting seat on the board and would not receive regular, detailed information about Uber.
(pp. 133-134)
Withheld information from investors
Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 131) describes Kalanick’s effort to reduce rights of investors:
Private companies aren’t obligated to make their internal statistics public, but investors with a significant ownership stake are generally given insight into the company’s financials. Kalanick, however, over time stripped some major investors of all “information rights,” and limited the degree of detail offered to others.
Isaac (p. 342) explains Kalanick’s response when investors demanded more information:
“So sue me,” he told [the investor]. “What’s your rep going to be in this industry if you sue your own company?”