[slackoverflower]

Uber definitely has the levers to become profitable anytime they want since they are entrenched in hundreds of major cities in the world. At the end of the day they control the supply and demand of their own platform and most Uber users will pay whatever the price is since they have been a necessity in many of their user's lives.

[ghaff]

>most Uber users will pay whatever the price

So Uber is charging their current rates as a way of giving back to the community or whatever? If Uber (or even Uber and Lyft) were to double their prices tomorrow there would most certainly be a drop in volume. Just a couple of days ago I took a Lyft from the airport for no other reason than that a cab would cost about 2x. Yes, there are also circumstances and places in which Uber/Lyft is demonstrably better than a cab but the decision can also just be about who is cheapest.

[Animats]

Uber is funded by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.[1] Softbank's Vision Fund is mostly a front for the Kingdom. That may be more of a political move than a financial one.

Even that wasn't enough money. Uber recently borrowed another $2 billion at 7.5 to 8% for 5-8 years.

[1] https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/uber/funding_rounds/...

[kevin_thibedeau]

They don't have to raise prices. Just cut superfluous headcount by 70%. Instant profitability.