Its the same thing with Airbnb. Uber is going to pave the way for someone else to come along.
Look at Pets.com, people freaked out because they were first to sell pet stuff online. Investors said, look they built an ecommerce website (really hard to do back them), they are first so they have brand affinity, and they'll build trust. Where is Pets.com now?
As for Nike, they're on an upswing now, but they are constantly under siege. But you're missing my point, which is that products (like Nike) build brand affinity, not retailers. Do you buy your Nikes from the same place every time?
^1 unless uber can use their capital to develop a self driving car before anyone else. This would give them a huge advantage. Competitors would struggle to overcome this and would make über virtually invincible.
This is precisely the point most are overlooking when they disagree with your point.
I don't shop at Amazon, ebay, target or walmart because of certain brand affinity for their products. I shop at them because of the brand affinity with the store.
Network effect + brand recognition is worth a TON. It's why you're probably wearing Nikes right now and not generics.