Unsealed court filings in the Waymo vs. Uber case include texts between former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick and Anthony Levandowski, the engineer accused of stealing secrets from Waymo/Google:
On March 19, 2016, before Uber acquired Otto, Levandowski and Kalanick exchanged messages catching up on their recent "jam" session. The pair were apparently trying to prod an engineer, whose name is redacted in the filings.
"Internet, electricity, self driving cars and key things will always find a way," Levandowski texted Kalanick, linking to a YouTube clip from the 1987 movie "Wall Street." In the clip, the main character gives a famous speech of why "greed is good." "Here's the speech you need to give ;-)."
Kalanick briefly updated Levandowski on Uber's food delivery business, then wrote, "The way you keep China in check is showing up when they ask every once in a while."
But Uber was losing $1 billion a year in China, and by August, Uber sold its Chinese business to rival Didi Chuxing.
Kalanick was also eager to partner with Google as it sought to enter into the ride-hailing market, and dismissive of Tesla's autonomous mode safety claims.
The best exchanges:
9/19/2016 Levandowski: We're going to take over the world
9/19/2016 Levandowski: One robot at a time
10/7/2016 Kalanick: Down to hang this eve and mastermind some shit
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 16 2017, @10:31PM
Eeeeeehhhh, I'm gonna disagree. There is merit to that viewpoint, but I would rather go to my deathbed happy in the fact I never screwed people over intentionally and systematically. If you play to win, and you play by their rules, then you lose. Unless you desire becoming a sociopath, which would mean you win?