It's actually quite brilliant: An innovative looking Silicon Valley startup that provides a concrete lifestyle improvement for the upper middle-class under a thin veil of inevitable technological progress.
1. Seems innovative, progressive, and aligned with currents of the time.
2. Got influential supporters through concrete life-style improvements for them.
3. Got a cover story that carries an unspoken threat of being a technophobe.
Not to mention the blatant euphemism "the sharing economy".
An example of where 2. becomes extra visible is when ex-employees of Uber rightfully criticizes the toxic leadership that's spread throughout the company, but is at the same time seemingly oblivious to the fact that Uber's business model is fundamentally reactionary for the working class and that this has been called out, albeit without an audience, for a long time.
So, did they succeed? Are cabbies dismantled now?
If the vcs stop pumping bil/year, will Uber exist?
I don't care about Uber or the Taxi industry, I am trying to point out that better replaces existing, and so far, that hasn't happened in the case of Uber.
Except for the entire planet getting some free rides, that part is awesome.