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posted by martyb on Friday January 19 2018, @06:22PM   Printer-friendly
from the Uber-Fail dept.

The Fall of Travis Kalanick Was a Lot Weirder and Darker Than You Thought

A year ago, before the investor lawsuits and the federal investigations, before the mass resignations, and before the connotation of the word "Uber" shifted from "world's most valuable startup" to "world's most dysfunctional," Uber's executives sat around a hotel conference room table in San Francisco, trying to convince their chief executive officer, Travis Kalanick, that the company had a major problem: him.

[...] [A] top executive excused herself to answer a phone call. A minute later, she reappeared and asked Kalanick to step into the hallway. Another executive joined them. They hunched over a laptop to watch a video that had just been posted online by Bloomberg News: grainy, black-and-white dashcam footage of Kalanick in the back seat of an UberBlack on Super Bowl weekend, heatedly arguing over fares with a driver named Fawzi Kamel. "Some people don't like to take responsibility for their own shit!" Kalanick can be heard yelling at Kamel. "They blame everything in their life on somebody else!"

As the clip ended, the three stood in stunned silence. Kalanick seemed to understand that his behavior required some form of contrition. According to a person who was there, he literally got down on his hands and knees and began squirming on the floor. "This is bad," he muttered. "I'm terrible." Then, contrition period over, he got up, called a board member, demanded a new PR strategy, and embarked on a yearlong starring role as the villain who gets his comeuppance in the most gripping startup drama since the dot-com bubble. It's a story that, until now, has never been fully told.

The article discusses a number of Uber and Kalanick scandals/events, including:

  • The #DeleteUber movement following Uber being accused of breaking up an airport taxi strike (which was in protest of President Trump's executive order restricting travel from Muslim countries), as well as Kalanick's decision to join President Trump's business advisory council (and later leave it).
  • Susan Fowler's blog post recounting sexual harassment at Uber, and the hiring of former U.S. attorney general Eric Holder to investigate the claims.
  • The revelation of Uber's Greyball system, which was used to avoid picking up law enforcement and taxi inspectors.
  • Uber's purchase of self-driving truck startup Otto, which eventually led key Uber investor Google (Waymo) to sue Uber, seeking billions in damages.
  • Kalanick's "inexplicable" support of Anthony Levandowski, who he called his "brother from another mother", even after Levandowski stopped defending Uber in the Waymo v. Uber case.
  • Kalanick's apology to the taxi driver Fawzi Kamel, which amounted to a $200,000 payoff.
  • A visit to a Seoul escort-karaoke bar that resulted in an HR complaint and a report in The Information.
  • Uber's president for Asia-Pacific Eric Alexander obtaining a confidential medical record of passenger who was raped by an Uber driver in Delhi, India. Alexander, Kalanick, and others discussed a theory that their Indian competitor Ola faked/orchestrated the rape.
  • Kalanick making his presence known during a "leave of absence" by trying to maintain control over the company and its board.
  • Arianna Huffington promoting her wellness company's products while acting as Kalanick's apparent proxy on the board.
  • The new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi's response to the city of London revoking Uber's operating license.

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by jelizondo on Friday January 19 2018, @06:38PM (6 children)

    by jelizondo (653) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 19 2018, @06:38PM (#624821) Journal

    This guy pocketed $1.4 billion [businessinsider.com] after his fall...

    Could I please, please, please at least humbly stumble?

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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Friday January 19 2018, @06:44PM

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Friday January 19 2018, @06:44PM (#624824) Journal

    ...right into the (San Francisco) gutter to die as a poor man?

    Kalanick could live a more than comfortable retirement for the rest of his life. Assuming he doesn't become an immortal billionaire. And he could start or invest in many businesses. It's one hecc of a fall.

    --
    [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 19 2018, @06:53PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 19 2018, @06:53PM (#624831)

    This is a good example of why wealth inequality is such a fucked up thing. It doesn't matter much these days how messed up someone is, if they can get rich all gets forgiven as they spread their money around. Why does he get to live like a king? For being a fucked up human being?

    Come on uzzy and jmo, let's hear your platitudes about why we need to maintain this farce.

    • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday January 19 2018, @07:28PM (2 children)

      by bob_super (1357) on Friday January 19 2018, @07:28PM (#624847)

      You reward the people who made you a lot of money, as an incentive for others to work with you and make you a lot of money.
      The criteria that matters is "how much money", because the smart investor doesn't get caught up in the row about the person's flaws and shameful business practices.

      • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday January 19 2018, @07:39PM

        by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 19 2018, @07:39PM (#624852) Journal

        You correctly identify the reason such messed up people get so ridiculously rewarded. But it's still messed up.

        --
        People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
      • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Thexalon on Friday January 19 2018, @08:47PM

        by Thexalon (636) on Friday January 19 2018, @08:47PM (#624891)

        ... the smart investor doesn't get caught up in the row about the person's flaws and shameful business practices.

        Which leads to the obvious question: Who should be caught up in the row about a person's shameful business practices? I've got a candidate: Government regulators and law enforcement. But no, that's big government, we can't have that.

        And now you know why big businesses love all the "small government" talk: It means laws aren't being enforced, which means that they can more easily get away with crime.

        --
        The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
  • (Score: 2) by hemocyanin on Friday January 19 2018, @07:45PM

    by hemocyanin (186) on Friday January 19 2018, @07:45PM (#624856) Journal

    +1 insightfunny