Uber Bets Big With Embrace of an All-Electric Car Future

Popular rideshare app Uber has fully embraced the left’s radical “green” agenda – and it could eventually bankrupt the company.

Back in 2020, Uber announced that it would electrify the entirety of its U.S., Canadian, and European fleets by 2030, and do the same globally by 2040 – news that likely came as a shock to many drivers. Since Uber drivers use their personal vehicles to transport passengers, Uber’s goal means that all of them will be forced to purchase expensive new electric vehicles or lose out on income that many rely on.

Earlier this year, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told attendees at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado that he views the company as “a global EV ambassador.” Last May, the company also added a new option for riders, “Comfort Electric,” which pre-selects for EVs. In June, Uber launched its new “Uber Green” initiative in India, promising to add 25,000 vehicles to its electric fleet in the near future.

But despite the green ambitions of Uber executives, just 5 percent of Uber’s U.S. miles are driven in EVs currently – meaning that a switch to an all-electric fleet in just over six years would necessitate a seismic shift in the composition of Uber’s fleet.

The company has offered some incentives for drivers to make the switch in recent months, such as an extra $1 for EV drivers on every trip. In total, the company has announced $800 million in investments to aid drivers in the transition.

However, with more than 5.4 million active drivers worldwide, that equates to less than $150 per driver. With the average cost of a new electric car still well above $50,000, it seems most drivers will still have to fork over a significant chunk of change to keep driving with Uber.

It’s also worth noting that margins for Uber drivers are already notoriously slim. A study released in March found that drivers’ median net earnings are now $6.20 per hour – well below the federal minimum wage of $7.25. That means that in order to afford a $53,000 electric car (about the average cost of a new EV) an Uber driver can expect to have to work 8,549 hours – more than four years’ worth of full-time work.

Most Uber drivers work lower-paying full-time jobs and ferry passengers as a side hustle to help make ends meet. For many, having to switch to an expensive new electric car is simply a non-starter.

This could leave Uber with a drastic shortage of drivers in the near future. The company has already come under fire this year for refusing to raise the percentage of ride fees that it pays to drivers. As Uber’s stated deadline to switch to EVs approaches, many drivers may decide they’ve had enough and move on to another line of work.

Even if drivers do manage to make the switch to EVs, however, they could run into several major issues.

For starters, while it takes just a few minutes to refuel a gas car, it takes 30 minutes or longer to charge an electric vehicle. As a result, EV Uber drivers who work long shifts could lose out on over an hour of driving – losses that will add up over time.

An even bigger problem will likely be a lack of charging infrastructure. Uber has pointed to London as the showcase for its green agenda, pledging to have an all-electric fleet there by 2025. But Uber has installed less than 25 percent of its planned 600 charging ports in the city, leading to long wait times and mounting frustrations from the drivers of more than 10,000 Uber EVs already on the road. With the number of London-based Uber EVs expected to swell to over 45,000 over the next two years, the problem seems poised to become even worse.

“What would make a difference is more charging, more range, lower-cost cars. All of those things haven’t happened as fast as we were promised,” Vince Cunningham, an Uber electric-vehicle driver in London, told The Wall Street Journal. “More needs to be done.”

There are also serious questions about whether electric grids can even keep up with the increased demand for EV charging. In London, electric prices are already going up. In California, the state government has repeatedly asked residents to not charge their EVs during peak hours.

In a final twist of irony, the additional power that will need to be generated to charge EV batteries will likely be even worse for the environment than traditional gas-powered cars. With renewables like wind and solar unable to generate even a fraction of the country’s demand, energy plants that run on coal and natural gas will be forced to ramp up production significantly.

In other words, Uber’s green ambitions are unlikely to deliver any of the promised environmental benefits, yet they will impose a major financial burden on drivers, forcing many to look elsewhere for work and perhaps even threatening the viability of the entire company.

Neil Banerji is a proud Las Vegas resident and former student at the University of Oxford. In his spare time, he enjoys reading Winston Churchill and Edmund Burke.