Uber says it alone can make robotaxis pay, hours after Waymo quit its app

Google-owned autonomous cab company Waymo has revealed it will stop allowing Uber users to book its robo-cabs, hours before the OG rideshare giant made a case for all autonomous vehicle fleet operators to use its platform instead of creating their own.

This slow-motion fender bender played out across Wednesday, starting with Waymo Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana telling Bloomberg that her company would end a partnership that saw it work exclusively with Uber in Austin and Atlanta.

Mawakana said Waymo wasn’t happy about the fact that when users of Uber’s app requested a ride in one of its robo-cabs, they weren’t guaranteed to get one.

News of that break-up came on the same day that Uber announced its quarterly results. As is common on such occasions, the company published remarks [PDF] its execs intend to make during an earnings call.

CEO Dara Khosrowshahi used those remarks to promote the idea that Uber is the natural home for robotaxi fleet operators, because it …