Uber backed a Nevada ballot question that would limit how much Nevada attorneys can charge in civil cases. Attorneys said that these limits would prevent them from taking on risky cases such as claims by victims of sexual assault against Uber and its drivers.
Alexander sued Whetstone but lost
In September 2018, Eric Alexander filed suit against Rachel Whetstone, alleging that she had violated a reciprocal non-disparagement clause in her severance agreement with Uber. In particular, Alexander alleged that Whetstone spread false, misleading, and disparaging information about Alexander’s response to the rape in India — which he says were the cause of his termination from Uber. Alexander also accused Whetstone of making a variety of racist comments, claimed that Whetstone incorrectly asserted he stole the rape victim’s medical file and bribed Indian authorities to get that file, and claimed that Whetstone said she would “ruin [his] career” by telling investigator Eric Holder about supposed misconduct. Alexander argued that these statements were false and defamatory.
Whetstone argued, among other things, that a severance agreement required all disputes to be resolved through arbitration, not litigation. The court granted her motion to compel arbitration. In February 2023, the court entered judgment for Whetstone.
Bribed police in Indonesia
Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 313) reports that Uber managers in Indonesia bribed police in a dispute about location of driver service centers. Isaac explains:
Instead of moving the company’s hubs, local Uber managers decided to pay off the cops. Every time a police officer would show up, an Uber manager would fork over a cash bribe—usually around 500,000 rupiah, around the equivalent of $35 USD, and the officer would leave. Unsurprisingly, the police became regular visitors.
The US Department of Justice investigated these payments — among others in China, India, and Malaysia — as possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. In January 2020 the investigation was closed without enforcement action.
Self-driving car ran a red light, but Uber falsely said an employee was driving
During the period in which Uber operated self-driving cars in California without a permit, a bystander observed an Uber vehicle run a red light without stopping. Uber initially claimed the incident was human error. But the self-driving car was in fact driving itself, according to two Uber employees and based on Uber documents viewed by the New York Times.
Refused to obtain California DMV permit for driverless testing
In December 2016, Uber began testing self-driving cars in California. But it failed to obtain a $150 permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles — not a clerical error, but instead an affirmative decision not to obtain such a permit because, Uber leaders claimed, their vehicles did not require such a permit. Thus Uber launched its self-driving pilot without notifying state regulators.
The Verge summarizes:
“In their minds, they really thought they weren’t autonomous,” Jessica Gonzalez, assistant deputy director of public affairs at the DMV, told The Verge. “But we decide what’s autonomous. And under our regulations, it was.”
The core of the disagreement was whether Uber’s vehicles constituted “autonomous vehicle” under California law. Uber claimed that its cars required a human being in the driver’s seat, hence were not autonomous. But California law defined autonomous based on technology (“any vehicle equipped with technology that has the capability of operating or driving the vehicle without the active physical control or monitoring of a natural person”, emphasis added), not just usage.
Contrary to Anthony Levandowski’s email to regulators that “We don’t do AV testing,” The Verge also reported evidence that the Uber vehicles were in fact used in autonomous mode. For one, The Verge re ports its staff riding in the back seat of one of Uber’s self-driving SUVs in San Francisco prior to the public launch in December. The Verge also reports that its reporters sat behind the driver’s seat while the vehicle drove itself. The Verge explains:
In both cases, the vehicle drove itself for long stretches of the trip, deftly handling intersections, bridges, and pedestrians without human intervention. There were times when a chime would sound, signaling the driver to take control. But other than that, the car was capable of operating “without the physical control or monitoring of a natural person,” as stipulated under the law.
The idea behind these public demonstrations was to prove that Uber’s self-driving vehicles were capable of handling dense urban environments, in anticipation of one day being capable of operating without a steering wheel, pedals, or even a human in the driver’s seat.
After the dispute became public, Uber removed its vehicles from California and began testing in Arizona instead.
#deleteUber campaign
Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 254) describes users’ online protest against Uber, inspired by Uber’s apparent refusal to honor a taxi strike in response to a Trump travel ban. Chicago writer Dan O’Sullivan Tweeted “congrats to @Uber_NYC on breaking a strike to profit off of refugees being consigned to Hell”, then “Don’t like @Uber’s exploitative anti-labor policies & Trump collaboration, now profiting off xenophobia? #deleteUber.” O’Sullivan then pointed out the surprisingly difficult task of deleting an Uber account.
Tens of thousands joined the #deleteUber protest, often posting screenshots of their account deletions. Within a week, more than 500,000 people deleted their Uber accounts, while others removed the app from their phones.
Thailand manager assaulted employee and pushed her face into drugs
Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 240) describes a toxic workplace at Uber in Thailand, including drug use and visits from sex workers. He continues:
One particularly raucous evening, a bunch of Uber Thailand employees were up late drinking and snorting coke, a semiregular occurrence at that office. One female Uber employee with the group had decided she didn’t want to do drugs with her colleagues, and tried to abstain. Before she could leave, her manager grabbed the woman and shook her, bruising her. Then he grabbed the back of her head and shoved her face-first into the pile of cocaine on the table, forcing her to snort the drugs in front of them.
Uber employee feared rape, and manager offered company health care, not help
Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 240) describes an experience of a female employee in Malaysia who noticed men following her from work, leading her to fear she would be raped. She texted multiple people seeking help, including her manager, the local Uber general manager. Rather than rush to the scene or call the police, the manager texted: “Don’t worry, Uber has great health care. We will pay for your medical bills.”
Denied permission to film an autonomous vehicle on a public road, Levandowski did so anyway
Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 193) reports that Anthony Levandowski, then working at the Otto autonomous truck startup he founded, sought permission from the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles to video record a vehicle test on a public road. When the request was denied, Levandowski did so anyway.
Brazilian thieves and taxi cartels anonymously attacked, robbed, and even murdered drivers
Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 216) reports that in Brazil, Uber had a particularly light sign-up process: No identify documents, no credit card (since cash was more widely used), and just an email address or phone number. Thieves and taxi cartels could therefore sign up for Uber anonymously — then steal or burn cars, attack or rob drivers, and sometimes commit murder. Among the victims was Luis Filho, who was stabbed to death as passengers stole his vehicle.