[music playing]
Previously on Super Pumped...
[Travis] Frictionless experience for every passenger.
Credit cards on file,
you just get out of the car, get on with your life.
-Tip? -No. Our rev share's
so good, our drivers don't need tips.
[woman] Uber has some very special incentives.
Twenty dollars a mile?
Yeah. Thrilled to have you exclusive to Uber.
[man 1] New plan: We're gonna step up
the information technology on our drivers.
[man 2] You mean surveillance?
[man 1] We don't have to use words like that.
-[man 2] Might cross a line. -[woman] So far I can't get anyone to talk.
There's dirt out there. I brought a shovel.
Why do you have such a hard-on for my client?
Here's how Google rolls:
They will bigfoot you, they will lowball you,
and you'll be screwed.
Breakfast, Tuesday, 9:00 a.m.
[Travis] I want Larry Page there.
You don't actually write code, do you, Tyler?
Travis.
Kalanick.
You got an ask?
Quarter bil.
Our founder just raised some serious cash.
[laughter]
There is nowhere near enough fear
in Silicon Valley right now.
I think you will see some dead unicorns this year.
You're VC's, you're supposed to actually believe
in the company that you put money into,
not just protect yourself from the possibility
you made the wrong call.
Shit.
[opening theme music plays]
["Rooster" by Alice in Chains playing]
Ooh
Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh
Ain't found a way To kill me yet
Eyes burn With stinging sweat
Seems every path
Leads me to nowhere
Wife and kids Household pet
Army green Was no safe bet
[speaking Portuguese]
...to me from somewhere
Mmm
If I'm General Patton, and I fucking am, right?
I mean, sorry, wait. Can I curse? I'm gonna curse.
If I'm Patton, is my point, then my drivers are my army.
My family. Really, la famiglia. Uber's one big family.
The drivers, the executives, the investors, Google Ventures,
they just came in heavy.
Biggest investment they have ever made.
That's how radical our vision is.
Yeah
You know he ain't gonna die
Por favor! Não!
What scares you?
I wouldn't really say anybody scares me.
[reporter] I mean, what?
Big taxi? [clears throat]
Crooked city legislators?
-Clone startups? -You're referring to Lyft.
Uh, you won't hear me say that name.
But, yeah, fuck Lyft. Fuck those guys.
I mean, we beat them. Shook up the world and all that.
But it's ancient history, really.
It's from Uber's primordial era.
It's pretty recent.
Shit moves quick in the cut.
[chuckles]
So, what's next?
World domination. Legit.
Our next app update comes in 12 different languages.
We're launching in Southeast Asia, China.
Uber's gonna be ubiquitous across the globe.
Transportation as reliable as running water.
Here
They come to snuff The rooster
Young founders are a hot commodity in the Valley.
Oh, ahem.
[both laugh]
You must basically have women on-demand now too.
Ah.
Yeah, we call that Boober.
-[both laugh] -Okay, well,
I think we should probably...
-[woman] Yes. -...move things along.
Don't forget your bag.
-[Travis] All right. -Thank you.
We're gonna be right this way.
Thanks. That was fun.
We've got to get our arms around this as soon as possible.
Twelve murdered drivers in Brazil.
[Tarantino] The boardroom is an imperium besieged, all right?
A board meeting is an end-times-style brawl.
Katanas, battle axes, fucking ninja throwing stars.
No weapon is off limits.
You play for power, survival,
and you stay for the barbaric gore of it all.
One weak swing loses support of the others,
and your blood paints the boardroom walls.
That's a function of Brazil, not of Uber.
How many taxi drivers died in that country?
Probably a lot more than 12, right?
No, you can't blame a country. The drivers are unsafe
because the passengers don't have to have credit cards
or IDs to open those accounts.
Yeah, but that's why we have passengers.
And, by the way, exponential growth.
It's the frictionless experience.
[chuckles] You know. Think this through.
One journalist writes about your drivers being murdered
while you're talking to another one about getting laid.
-I did not-- -Close enough.
Where does that lead? What other attacks may come?
Now just for the hell of it,
imagine that news crews are, uh, picking up protests
outside the Uber offices down in Rio.
Just when we're about to get the elusive foothold in China,
Xi Jinping, he sees it.
Pulls the plug on the whole operation.
Other countries follow suit, and before you know it,
the whole fucking worldwide launches tank, Travis.
And/or we do something to address the problem now
and let the drivers know that we give a shit about them.
Pretty amped up, huh?
Well, it's not Gil's back porch, that's for sure.
Is that some kind of Texas expression for bullshit?
No.
And no, Bill,
it sure isn't.
This is unfolding just like we thought it would
when we were jamming on this with Crystal and Angie
up in the hot tub in Truckee.
We've got a big lead
and we've got to protect it, right?
-Hell, yeah. -[all] Cheers.
Hell, yeah.
Hey.
Remember this.
[all chuckling]
[Travis] Okay.
No, no. No, I mean it.
It's been you and your best friends
planning the future in the open air.
Until now.
Hold on to that. Remember it.
Hell, savor this.
That's the point of doing things with people you love.
No, when we first met, you told me that you'd listen
but you wouldn't be bound, so don't give me the love shit.
They'll do what you say,
but not out of fear or calculation.
And you're gonna hear them the same way.
But when this company becomes what I know it will...
board meetings are not gonna be like this anymore.
I've been in plenty of boardrooms.
You have never been in anything like what you're building here.
When this thing becomes itself...
board meetings are gonna--
gonna be the Royal Rumble mixed with the World Series of Poker.
-Trust me. -[laughs]
Sounds good.
[Gil] Hey, guys, get a beer.
When that day comes...
we on the same side of the battle?
Well, if not, you and me will know we fucked up really good.
-[laughs] -[bottles clink]
Introduce you to the guys.
[indistinct chatter]
-Bill! -Good to see you again.
-Yeah, thank you. -Gil.
-Hi, Gil. -What's going on
I commissioned a driver survey.
You talked to my drivers without me?
That is squirrelly as fuck.
Jesus.
Yeah. Your drivers are unhappy.
Without their bonuses and their incentives,
they're struggling, Travis.
What kind of schools do they have in their countries?
This spelling and grammar, Jesus Christ.
You know what? Spell and define "Manichaean," Graves,
or kindly take a listening posture.
It means seeing the world in good or evil only.
Which by the way, I kind of do.
If you line up with me, you line up against me,
I never forget that shit.
It's not time for philosophizing.
It's time for tipping.
Ti--?
That's your big solve for building driver trust?
-Maybe it's a start. -No. Sorry.
No, I don't think you guys are seeing
the full theater of war here.
In a couple years, drivers won't even be an issue.
The future of Uber is one that moves beyond drivers.
The future doesn't matter if we don't get there.
Tipping is an extra 20% to the drivers' bottom line.
It shows them that we stand behind them as a company.
Let them know they can trust you.
Like I do, Travis.
Flip the perception.
Tipping begins to get that done.
And it's also just right.
No.
I'm sorry, no.
I'm not even gonna go on the defensive for a second, man.
When I walk in this room, it should be like Kirk Gibson
walking into Dodger Stadium.
One loud long cheer that goes on the whole fucking game.
We're doing millions of rides a day, dude.
I am making you what your comic books of your generation
would call filthy rich.
All right, all right. You want a standing ovation?
Fine, I'll stand up and clap.
But this isn't about my opinion.
It's about trying to turn public opinion.
You know, I...
I don't mind kicking the drivers a few bucks each time.
So why not make it a feature?
After everything we just said about trust?
Did that whole Manichaean comment just miss you, dude?
Look, some people got murdered. That is a terrible thing.
But let's not jump to asinine solutions like tipping and IDs
that blow up our frictionless experience
just because that's our only idea right now.
All right.
[sighs]
All right.
I move we put the question to a formal vote at the next meeting.
Seconded.
Hey, uh, let's talk Code Conference.
Oh, yeah? There's someone you want me to dazzle?
Investor? Journalist?
I'm your prize show jumper, ready to leap.
Just point me to the fucking fence.
I know you can clear anything,
but potential articles about you partying at a resort
right after a murder.
So why don't you just lay low, relax?
[laughs]
David, it's Code Conference.
It's Silicon Valley's elite in concentrated form.
If I don't go, then my competitors fill the vacuum.
That's not an option.
I'll see you there.
[inaudible]
Fucking Gurley, man.
[Emil] We've got a more pressing situation.
Go ahead, you want to yap, yap.
Nine days since we sent the update
to the App Store for approval.
What? Nine days? No, that is way too long.
The version that's up right now is fucking buggy.
It crashes like half the time the user tries to update
their pickup locations, 150,000 dropped trips a day.
We're losing $4 million
every day this update doesn't come out.
Maybe it's a glitch. Maybe Apple is just bogged down.
There's a ton of new code in the build,
plus the new language functions.
The App Store does not get bogged down.
Eddy Cue doesn't allow that.
Maybe...
Maybe he knows the other thing.
You buried it deep, right?
-Right? -Yes.
Yes, yes. He can't know.
All right, then cool.
I mean, I'm gonna see Eddy Cue at Code, right?
I'll work him over. I'll say, like,
he's not trying to hurt us, you know.
He needs us.
We're the number one app in the App Store, right?
If Uber's all glitchy and we're losing users,
it's not just us losing.
Apple loses too, okay?
I go to Code, I crush it.
By the way, then the board sees
-they can't vote against me. -[knocks]
Yeah, let me introduce you.
Hey, I found her wandering around out front.
New hire on your Site Reliability Section,
so I know she's a rock star.
I mean, I'm an engineer, not a--
Leave her with me so I can give her the rock star treatment.
I knew I hired on at the right place.
Yeah. No doubt. See you around the water cooler.
I remember your résumé.
Double major from Penn in physics.
And, wait, don't tell me, all right?
I love a woman who does double Penn.
Philosophy.
I'm really excited to be working here.
Feels like sailing over the moon.
Poetic.
Uh, where did you grow up?
Where'd you go to high school?
Homeschooled. Self-taught, really.
In Arizona.
You don't look homeschooled.
I've been studying our platform,
and I already have ideas on how to begin
standardizing some of our microservices.
A self-starter.
[chuckles] You'll do well here.
Uh, just, um, pick any spot to work and dive right in.
Okay.
[Kamel] Habibti, I'm going to stay in the city tonight.
[Zahra, on phone] Can't you come home?
Got to get an early start. You know that.
So wake up early.
I'll get up with you, make strong coffee.
I get more sleep this way.
Where will you stay?
With a driver friend.
He has an extra bedroom.
The money is worthless if I never see you.
If the kids don't.
Quality time in the dark isn't so great
when I can't pay the electricity bill.
[speaking Arabic]
I'll see you tomorrow.
[computer chimes]
[typing]
[computer chiming]
[indistinct chatter]
TK, Eddy Cue, nine o'clock.
Going in hot.
Now, whose plus-one are you?
Oh, you're with the waitstaff? I'll take a dry gin martini.
[laughs] I can't say I'm exactly happy
to see you here tonight though, huh?
-Why is that, Travis? -'Cause you should be
in your office rubber-stamping our app update.
Come on, your guys are killing me.
Can you put a boot in someone's ass, get this done?
Sure thing, TK. Anything for you.
It's my raison d'être.
And text me a list of what else you'd like me to do for you.
I didn't mean it like that.
I'm just saying, I got to get this done.
My guys are all over me.
Okay.
[jazzy music playing]
Oh, look at this.
Picture me and Sergey Brin in TechCrunch
jamming over dinner.
Think the board can shut their mouths
about our public image problem, huh?
[both laugh]
-Sergey, it's such a pleasure. -It's so good to see you.
I never thought I'd say this,
but he is totally pulling off those Crocs.
Sergey, it's a pleasure.
[Travis] Yeah, for him, the Crocs are a power move.
Hi, partner.
It's great to be breaking bread with you.
Is this, uh, table four?
I'm supposed to be at table four.
-Hello. Hi, how are you? -Hi.
[Sergey] Pleasure. I'm Sergey.
[Gabi] Gabi.
Our endgame is to build the TCP/IP for real life.
Like, I want to be the packet switching
for the physical world.
Well, you'd first have to turn each shipment and passenger
into the same uniform size.
That's what they said to the Wright brothers
about fixed-wing air travel, right?
That was a different problem entirely.
No, I know that. I'm just saying it's--
So, um, your mother is from Beijing, Gabi?
Have you ever been?
Uh, no, only once when I was a baby.
But I've got relatives that I'm hoping to go and meet--
Hold on, did you have research done on her or something?
I bet you could give me a bio
on, like, everybody in this room, huh?
[Sergey] Oh, I was just asking
where she was from while you were ordering, man.
So when you go, uh, you should take the Hutong Food Tour.
They're these alleyways with different stalls.
-Each stall has its-- oh... -[reporter] Sergey!
[camera shutters click]
Uh, each stall is another sort of exotic, uh, delicacy.
I ate a snow leopard paw.
The paw of a snow leopard.
What they do is they take the leopard's paw and crack it.
[Tarantino] You think you know her,
but that's just 'cause you know her name.
Arianna Huffington.
This is not somebody who says the first thing
that pops into her cabeza, Daddy-o.
If a chess grandmaster is always three steps ahead,
this gal is on the moving sidewalk
while you're still tying your shoestrings.
She started a news and culture website
where the writers didn't get paid
fucking dick for their writing.
And she went ahead and sold it for $300 million.
And she was just getting her motor revving.
-[waiter[ Sir. -Thank you.
The notorious bad boy of tech.
Were you offended by my Boober comment too?
Because I'll tell you what I told my publicist,
I'm not going on an apology tour.
Offended? Darling, you're talking to someone
who's had to sit at meals with Bill Maher and Pat Buchanan.
Listen to them talk.
Find common ground.
The people who would-- thank you.
Who would take offense at you crowing a little bit
just don't understand.
Every successful person I know
enjoys their success in their own way.
Or they don't stay successful very long.
And they certainly don't feel it.
No, serving yourself is serving your company,
which is serving the world.
I'm--
I know who you are, Miss Huffington.
-Arianna, please. -Arianna.
And, yes, you are so right.
This is what I was trying to tell my board.
They didn't even want me to show up here.
So many young founders burn out quickly.
Here one year, gone the next.
Because they stopped listening to their own voice.
Or because they only listen to it.
But you, Travis,
when I look at you,
I can see that you belong here.
Damn straight I do.
Uber isn't going anywhere, and neither am I.
-Good. -You know what?
You should give us a ride sometime.
If you like it, tweet about us. And my contact's on there too.
You are good.
I'm seeing it all.
I love it.
If you think you see it all, give it another think.
Tamara!
[camera shutters click]
[sighs]
[indistinct chatter]
I got you a drink.
Why? I'm sober.
Oh.
Fucked that up. Sorry.
No, I'll be able to resist, trust me.
[laughs] Okay.
Well, more for me, I guess.
Um, I think it's really cool that you got to come to Code.
I'm really glad you're here.
-Yeah, I know, right? -Yeah.
It's nice to see all the hard work paying off, you know?
Finally made it to the VIP dinner.
Where you belong, for sure.
Ohh. [soft chuckle]
-To the VIP dinner. -[chuckles] Yeah! There you go.
Well, I'll be at the hotel pool tonight if, uh, you should...
Oh, I think-- I'll see what Travis wants to do.
Hey, I'm kind of tired. You ready to go?
[Gabi] Yeah. Sure.
It was so nice to meet you.
And you, Gabi.
Next time you could try being a little more professional.
I was just being polite.
You told me to impress him.
Not by letting him think you wanted to fuck him.
If I wanted to, I could be right now
rather than sitting here and taking this shit from you.
I didn't say you really wanted to.
I'm saying that's what he thought.
You know, Travis, I have two moves in that spot.
Walk away, stand in.
I didn't want to make a scene and embarrass you.
Well, you did both. It's okay.
Tomorrow, I'll just go to the events by myself,
because I need Sergey to like me.
To focus on me, not you.
Hey.
Um, something happened last night.
I was talking to Gil and, um...
He, uh...
What? Tell me.
[sighs]
He touched me.
What? That piece of shit. Are you okay?
Yeah, I...I'm good. I just--
I want to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Okay.
I need to know exactly what happened.
I need to know how badly I'm gonna fuck this guy up.
Uh, he...
Could I get a Diet Coke with a lime?
I will have what she's having, but put rum in mine.
Hey, we should totally go for a walk on that beach pass.
I mean, I stopped him, but yeah.
Yeah, that never should have happened.
-I really wish it hadn't. -Listen, don't worry.
I'm gonna take care of you, okay? I got it.
I'm gonna dismantle that motherfucker.
[sighs]
Okay?
Yeah.
I swear to God, Jesus...
Fucking asshole.
It's fucked up.
You good? You want anything?
Not hungry? Okay.
[intense music playing]
[applause]
[man, on loudspeaker] Bravo!
Very cool, Sergey.
The future is here.
[Sergey] Yeah, we have a good feeling about this tech.
Um, but yeah, I said that about Google Glass, so...
[laughter]
I think top of everyone's mind
is the incredible potential with this dev.
Owning a car could become antiquated.
The entire insurance industry could disappear.
Uh, is Google considering starting
a self-driving ride-hailing service?
Well, the only thing I can say about that is, uh,
anything is possible.
[applause]
Hey, Drummond!
So that whole "lay low" thing, that was bullshit, right?
You didn't want me to come here so I wouldn't see that.
So I'd just hear about it and then settle down
before you had to deal with me.
The settling down part makes sense, TK. Do it.
Yeah, I almost feel like it, because my own investors
are plotting to render Uber obsolete.
-Plotting? Plotting? Sergey... -Sergey just got on stage,
and he demonstrated the intention and the means
of my demise while smiling for the camera.
Not the plan at all. Think about it, TK.
We just invested 250 mil with you.
Why would we throw a grenade and run right into it?
I don't know, but that's what Sergey said.
You heard him. Did he tell you to ask me not to come?
Is he trying to get me out of the way, or is Larry?
Larry and Sergey don't really know who you are, TK.
[scoffs]
I find that a little hard to believe.
Sergey was trying to climb into my girlfriend
pretty good last night.
Well, I think that was more about her than you,
and proves my point, because let me tell you
who he wouldn't try to take a woman from.
Zuck or Bezos.
[Arianna] Smart you came looking for me.
That presentation was a direct attack on you and your business.
Right? But they won't cop to it.
I just lost my cool with David Drummond.
I couldn't let him stand there and lie to my face.
But, I mean, he's our highest profile investor
with a board seat.
Here's what you do.
Find a new investor with deep pockets,
someone you can put on the board and count on,
to dilute Google's influence.
I mean, I have VCs knocking on my door every day.
But if I'm gonna put someone on the board,
I need to trust the fuck out of them.
I don't trust anybody right now.
Well, I would offer myself for the position,
but there's a conflict.
HuffPo covers Uber too closely.
Second, you need your own self-driving tech.
Being the best doesn't matter. Being first does.
Whether you build it or buy it,
you need to beat Google to the product.
Levandowski.
Kalanick.
Now that we dispensed with fineries, talk, talking man.
You're the one that should be talking up on that stage.
Sergey was basking in the light of your work,
but he didn't make this car go, you did.
And yet they didn't make you head
of Google's self-driving unit. It's weird, right?
Oh, you can't sow dissent where it's already growing wild.
They won't let me do open road tests.
Scared of the potential optics of a crash.
So they promoted a Larry Page kiss-ass over me.
You got to break some egg-shaped cars
to make a fucking self-driving omelet, right?
Exactly.
But I'm the only one with the stones to say that.
You're not the only one. I've always been my own boss.
I hire geniuses.
I let them say and do whatever the fuck they want.
Geniuses like you.
Imagine that.
Running your own team.
Calling your own shots. Isn't that what you want?
That's what I want.
Fuck these guys.
Let's beat them.
Oh, that's insane.
Oh, I know, I know, they're giants, right?
They are monster fucking aliens.
And they think we're the goddamn Looney Tunes.
But guess what? I'm Michael Jordan.
And so are you.
-How could we both--? -It's a cartoon.
We make the rules. That's what I'm saying.
Yeah. Okay.
Taking on Google with their resources?
It's too crazy.
Too much risk.
Fuck Larry Page.
Fuck Sergey Brin. Fuck Google, man.
Those guys? They're the establishment, man.
We're the renegades.
I take fear, I mix it up with some Iams.
I feed it to my dog for breakfast.
Google's on your damn board, man.
They're calling your shots
no matter how big of a game you talk.
Wrong. Nobody controls me.
Especially my own board.
And I made it so by stealing from Google's own playbook.
I gave Uber a dual-class stock structure too.
And me and my boy Garrett,
we are the only ones with super-voting shares.
I can block anything that any board member tries to do.
And I can't be fired.
You're a devious motherfucker.
[laughs] I'm a disruptor.
Sometimes that means being a devious motherfucker.
Sometimes it means being an obnoxious asshole.
When you're ready, come by my office,
tap on the glass.
"My girlfriend has no problem finding other partners."
It's not as easy for me, since I'm always here.
The whole "open relationship" thing
is working out better for her.
I decided I got to look around here for someone.
Then you walked in.
[chuckles]
L-O-L.
Winky face.
Mm, God.
That's pretty pathetic.
-It really is. -[laughs]
I feel kind of bad for the guy.
I don't.
It's so easy to just not say things like that
-to your employees, you know. -I know.
Just sounds like he's lonely, though.
But that's not really an excuse.
I mean, isn't there a protocol for these kinds of situations?
You could put in a complaint.
Craig will be notified.
Technically it's anonymous,
but he'll probably know that it came from you.
That's my only option?
Leadership loves Craig.
He's a high performer.
This is a first-time offense for him.
I don't really see a need to ruin his life
over something so small.
I don't feel comfortable working under him.
We could switch you to a different team.
But this is the star team.
Because Craig is a star.
You see?
[sighs]
Motherfuck! The update's still not out?
The board thinks it's coming out today.
Gurley's gonna be sniffing around our shit
like some fuckin' TSA Belgian Malinois.
What the hell's the holdup?
Eddy Cue is friendly, right?
Yeah, no, that guy fuckin' loves me,
which I do not feel from my own board.
I feel... judged.
The board is fuckin' legit
being judgy as hell right now.
I want to add somebody else.
Board won't add unless that person
can bring some serious dough.
No, I know.
Anybody I add's gonna buy the ride, don't worry.
A huge fuck-you to Drummond.
Exactly. Sequoia...
I mean, they have the capital,
but fuck them, I'm not giving them a second chance.
Andreessen, they backed the other guys.
Plus, him and Gurley,
they're like Dom Toretto and Owen Shaw, so...
[chuckles]
Um... oh.
What about David Bonderman at TPG?
TPG?
TPG is Google Ventures' biggest competitor.
Oh, is it really?
Google will take it as a declaration of war.
Sergey started the war. I'm just gonna win it.
Okay, well, to that end,
I can get you TPG,
but not Bonderman.
He'll put a junior on. Doesn't take board seats anymore.
No, it's gotta be him.
True independent.
I'm saying, I need somebody that cannot be
fucked with by my opponents.
Then we should go back to let's find someone else.
No.
I'm gonna show you something.
See this?
That's Levandowski.
I'm gonna poach him. He's warming to it.
I'm gonna leave these fuckers with nothing on their plates.
Strafing the enemy while they march, oblivious.
Genius strategy.
Yeah, but, also, once we do that,
we have to take it the whole fuckin' way.
Oh, yeah. Knife-gun- hospital-morgue.
You know, you take from me, I take tenfold.
They are bigger, stronger, richer.
We can't forget that.
What did...did David's best friend
say this shit to David
when he was loading the rock
into the fuckin' sling?
Oh, you want a sling?
I get you a fuckin' sling by 3:00.
My job is to lay out the facts
and have your back no matter what.
You want to do this, we fuckin' do it.
Yeah, I've been spoiling to fight these pricks
ever since they made us come begging to 'em for money.
I'll get you that meeting with Bonderman.
Then, well, it'll be up to you.
Let's fuckin' go.
Hey, I didn't bring it up,
because I know you're dealing with a lot right now...
but that interview...
Uh, don't worry about that.
It's a public persona thing.
You know, Dean Martin drank milk,
but he acted like a drunk.
[Gabi] I mean, I wish you didn't have to do
the posturing part.
But I get it.
And I know the real you.
See, I wish I could have you on my fucking board.
[chuckles]
-Yeah? -Yeah.
Oh, my God.
They'd be so distracted by you, they wouldn't say shit to me.
[laughs] Can you imagine that?
[Gurley] The best thing about Travis
is he'll run through walls to win.
The worst thing about him is, he thinks everything's a wall.
Have you lost faith in him?
No. No.
It's just that he's got unfettered power,
which we helped give him,
and he's spinning off course a bit.
We just need to be his bumpers.
Help keep this thing from heading toward the gutter.
We redirect him in a small way. He sees that it's better.
Then we can work with him.
I get it, but Travis has more power
than any of us because of his super shares.
Exactly.
Our hope is to team up.
We can't bully him.
But if we sit back right now, we do nothing, might lose him.
Might not be able to reach him again.
Now is the moment for intervention.
So on the tipping thing, we need your vote.
Oh, I see that.
I see that you do.
Look, Travis threw a tantrum in front of me at Code.
At me, really.
I didn't like how he talked
about my guys Larry and Sergey.
That ego is getting in the way. It needs to be checked.
I'm in.
[elevator bell dings]
[Tarantino] David fucking Bonderman.
Bondo.
-[coins clinking] -[music playing]
Guy manages about a trillion
through the private equity shop, TPG.
His investments sprinkle fairy dust throughout the Valley.
Unparalleled brutality in the boardroom.
This guy is the motherfucking ringer.
Revenue. Growth projections. Some security measures.
Do you want to go through any of that?
I don't pick pepper out of fly shit.
I know the numbers.
You want my $90 million,
you should know a board seat comes our way in exchange.
Not our way. Comes to you.
Oh, I don't do that anymore.
I have a suite full of vice presidents to pick from.
One of them will take the seat and get granular.
No deal. It's got to be you.
Not sure you know what you're asking.
-[chuckles] -I have to put juniors
in these board seats because of the scale of our operation.
Downside is, a younger man might get swayed by a founder.
I won't.
No puppet strings attached.
I call my own shots and cast my votes the way I see fit.
That isn't exactly what some past operators were looking for.
And they learned the hard way.
Well, that is what I'm looking for.
So if it's not your ass in the seat,
$90 million or not,
no deal.
[intense music playing]
-[elevator dings] -David.
See you soon.
Fuck yeah.
-It's the entire list. -Oh, my God. Yeah, okay.
-This is it. -Here he is.
So Olivia Longociu just published
our entire list of data access permissions.
-You goin' to the sandwich shop? -Yeah, let's do it.
[indistinct small talk and laughter]
So I know for sure that Maia's fucking someone.
That sucks.
How'd you find out?
For real?
I looked at her GPS data through Heaven.
She Ubered to a residential address on Saturday night,
and didn't leave until Sunday morning.
[Pete] If you find a trail of gold,
you can't be sad when it runs out.
Just be glad you got some gold.
-All of them? -[Hazelbaker] Yes, all of them.
Everyone who reads it will know that we access users' messages,
cameras, contacts, GPS,
even after the app's been closed.
The comments on this article are animated.
Animated? I mean, they're inflamed.
Okay, okay, we're gonna handle this directly, all right?
We're gonna put out a release, talk about the context
of all of our data access permissions.
-Apple just rejected the update. -Shit. Did Cue see the article?
[cell phone vibrates]
Eddy, what's up, man?
Travis, your build breaks dozens of App Store rules.
It's an abomination.
Okay, look, I'm sure we can figure this out.
User privacy is the goddamned first tenet of Apple.
You're following your customers home.
We have very legitimate reasons for why we access the data.
Change it, all of it,
if you want to stay in the App Store.
Otherwise, we will erase Uber.
[phone clatters]
You got it, Eddy. I'll fix it.
I've never heard of Eddy Cue calling a CEO directly.
Yeah. Fuck, that's scary.
Our entire business depends on staying in the App Store.
This is bad, Travis. I mean, this really is apocalyptic bad.
Am I surrounded by a bunch of doomsday preppers now?
-Is that what's happening? -Wait, wait, wait.
If Apple wanted to execute us,
Tim Cook would have called himself.
We're one of the biggest apps of all time.
That is true.
And they know we know that.
It's a bluff.
[sighs]
They're bluffing.
[laughs]
Okay, but just because you know someone's bluffing,
that doesn't mean it's your moment to make a stand.
Change the app. We're gonna play by the rules.
Do it now, fast. Thank you, everybody.
Good read.
Where'd you get that, uh, that bit about bluffing?
Bill Gurley.
[both laugh]
Smart guy, right?
Bill motherfucking Gurley.
[knocks desk]
Will you get me a six-pack of Pacifico?
What's up?
-Olivia Lungociu. -Journalist at Madding Crowd
just fucked us hard in her column.
Open her up quick and quiet.
She needs to be fucking neutralized.
I'll see what I can find.
The more personal, the better.
[man] Hey.
Uh...
Travis said that you were upset the other night in L.A.
Yeah, uh...
I'm sorry. Like, I was drunk.
So...
Um...
but you went to our fucking boss?
Like, I thought you had balls.
[chuckles] I'm sorry, "balls"?
You're employee number four.
Plus, I thought you were...
down.
For fuck's sake.
[scoffs]
-[knocks] -Hey, TK.
-Yeah? -That thing we, uh,
talked about, the, uh, Gil situation.
Yeah.
You handled it, right?
Absolutely. Yeah, I told him to knock it off.
And if he didn't, then I would punch his ticket out of here
and out of the whole legal profession.
That's it?
What else?
He's not gonna do it again.
If he does, you just let me know.
Maybe that doesn't mean so much
coming from the Boober guy.
[chuckles]
It's a persona.
Why doesn't anybody understand this?
Dean Martin drank milk.
What? No, that was counter-spin. He had fucking liver failure.
Okay, look, I already have a girlfriend and a mom
and two publicists up my ass about this.
Can you not also try to climb in right now?
It's just kind of hard to do my job
when I'm surrounded by creeps.
Look, you hire the asshole every time,
and then you let them do and say whatever the fuck they want,
and you're not the one who has to pay the price.
-I am. -What would you like me to do?
Fire him?
Look, if I fired every asshole in here,
there'd be no one left.
How about this?
How about we focus on what these assholes are helping us build,
and why it takes assholes to get it done.
The point-five percent that you own,
that's gonna be worth tens of millions of dollars.
[sighs]
Yeah.
[Gurley] How did your meeting go?
[chuckles]
You got private eyes following me?
Oh, you know this town.
Nothing stays a secret for too long.
Or in this company, it seems.
Anyway, uh, it was a bit unexpected.
He was insistent that I'd be joining you fellas personally.
That was a term.
Well, that would be ideal.
The board could use a little less spinnaker,
a little more rudder.
[chuckles]
What'd you tell him?
Same thing I'll be telling you.
I'm no bandleader.
No.
And that's what we're counting on.
You've always responded to good sense with good sense, David.
[Drummond] And we would be expecting that to continue.
You'd be joining at a crucial point.
We need to keep this unicorn from running right off a cliff.
I'm throwing 89 mil into this thing,
and you're telling me that's a possibility?
[Gurley] No, no, look, it's just a question
of slowing the kid's roll a little bit,
helping him grow into the leader he almost is.
Kid's cocky.
He's, uh, flashy.
He's brash.
I think most of the greats have those characteristics.
Or did, at one point.
Agreed.
Travis has all the qualities
of an exceptional founder-slash-CEO.
But he thinks he's still killing giants.
[Gurley] That's a good way to put it.
Hell, you know how this goes, David.
Just trying to rein the kid in, that's all.
Shit.
All right.
[clears throat]
I trust your take. How do we play it?
We'll persuade Travis to add another board seat to your deal
and appoint someone you trust.
That'll get us most of the way to control.
[music playing]
How's it going?
You know what?
Why don't you guys enjoy these?
I have no use for them anymore.
[elevator dings]
Let me get back to you, Rich.
I know you're not happy with me
and how I'm running my company.
Well, it's nothing that we can't talk out.
Yeah, that's what I thought at first.
And I came here to make peace.
But you know what? I have an offer instead.
I'll buy back all of your shares,
market value, $300 million,
and you can walk away.
That's not what I do.
I build great companies. Companies that change the world.
I don't take the money and run, Travis.
I'm the guy that stays.
So it's come to this?
For Christ's sake, it doesn't have to.
Listen, your drivers are miserable.
And if you won't listen to me, why don't you listen to them?
And if this trajectory continues,
people will stop getting into Ubers.
Aw, just like they're gonna stop shopping at Walmart
and stop eating at McDonald's?
Everyone knows those are shitheel companies.
No one gives a solitary fuck,
because the merch is dirt cheap, and the fries taste delicious.
We consume what we want,
and our brains figure out a way to justify it later.
And that's why the end of a drunk night out,
or when you're running late for work,
or just because it's fucking raining,
people are gonna keep pulling out their phones
and ordering an Uber without giving it a second thought.
Relying on people's worst,
most base instincts
is not a way to change the world.
And the board agrees with me on that.
The majority, anyway.
Which is enough for me to get that vote tomorrow night...
and every vote after that.
I wouldn't rely on that.
By the way, we both know why you don't want to walk away for 300,
and it's not high-fucking-minded either.
It's because you know that if you stay,
your piece is gonna be worth billions.
[doorbell rings]
Travis.
They can't fire me,
but they can sure as hell fuck with me.
I need your advice.
No.
You can't hear my advice like this.
We need to get you centered.
Come.
[chuckling]
I'm not supposed to do this,
but I'm going to give you a mantra.
[whispers indistinctly]
[sighs]
Close your eyes.
Let mantra roll around in your brain.
Let yourself go deeper.
-[Travis] Thank you. -[Arianna] Now, you're ready.
Let's talk.
Mm, see, there's a thing--
Uh, darling, please sit.
I can't have you choking.
Sorry.
-Napkin. -[clears throat]
This is what I need on my board.
I need someone who knows when I'm hungry
and when I need to breathe, like you.
You know what I mean? Everyone else, they're just--
they're out for themselves.
You added someone to the board, and he's gone rogue?
Yes. Exactly. David Bonderman.
Ah, big player.
strong ally.
Difficult opponent.
Exactly, right? So he's coming in with money.
But he met with Drummond and Gurley
right after we pitched him.
Then he sends me this email asking for another seat.
Says his money is contingent on that.
I thought he was just being aggressive,
but now I know Gurley is trying to use him against me.
I got to ditch the whole deal.
-The deal isn't closed? -No.
Not until tomorrow. I mean, the board votes on it.
Don't ditch the deal.
Leave Bonderman on.
I have an idea.
I'm taking the team out for drinks tonight.
Come with us.
I'll probably just go home.
[typing]
It's kind of more like a team meeting.
You know, we'll probably talk upcoming projects.
I wouldn't want to miss it if I were you.
I could use a friend.
Okay, that's an awkward thing to say, and we barely--
-But, yeah, I could. -Of course.
Yes, I-I get it. What's up?
Something uncomfortable happened with my team leader
on my first day.
I reported it to HR,
but she told me I either had to suck it up or switch teams.
Switch teams.
Shit.
I love this work.
Plus, then, like, I'm the one being punished
for the shit he did. His misconduct.
I feel for you, I do.
And I...
I fucking relate.
[sighs]
The situation sucks.
But you chose Uber, not the ACLU.
And we basically signed up
to work in the middle of Mardi Gras.
We're not gonna show our tits for a bunch of beads,
but, you know, there's nothing we can do to stop the parade.
Oh.
[sighs]
What if I were to tell you
to not completely kill the old build,
but to leave it working underneath the new build?
And somehow, like, make it undetectable.
You mean....
How would you do it?
Uh, I...
I would set up a geofence around Apple HQ.
[Travis laughs]
So anyone looking at Uber's app from Cupertino
won't be able to see the privacy-violating code.
Mm-hmm.
It would look something like this.
[chuckles]
But outside the geofence?
We're still collecting the user data.
Wow. That's a fucking good idea.
[both snicker]
[inhales sharply]
Do it.
Do it quickly and alone.
That is the build we're resubmitting to Eddy Cue.
[typing]
All right, couple of announcements
before we get to scheduled matters.
Number one, I fully expect our build
to be approved by the App Store today.
We have made sure that there are no violations of policy,
no intrusions of privacy.
None.
Privacy breaches have been removed.
Not accessing cameras, locations or contacts.
Good. As it should be. Approved.
Excellent.
Yep, just got the news.
So if you want, you can check your phones.
The build is live. It should be on there.
[applause]
Number two, I am directing resources
towards autonomous vehicles.
And I believe I've aligned on a great engineer to head that up.
[knock on door]
I just sent Google my resignation letter.
My 20 best techs are fucking leaving with me.
Fuck, yes, dude. Okay...
we wait for the right time, not too long.
Then we acquire you.
Larry and Sergey are gonna shit themselves.
More on that later,
but I think it'll go a long way
to rendering our current tipping discussion irrelevant.
Well, and we will have that discussion.
Long way from ideating to driverless cars.
To that end, uh...
the first real order of business tonight
is a vote on bringing in TPG as a Series C investor,
which will also allow Mr. David Bonderman
a seat on the board.
TPG will also get a second board seat
to be appointed by Travis and me.
All in favor?
Yeah.
Welcome aboard, Bondo.
David, might you be thinking about anyone in particular
for that second seat?
[Travis] Oh, David and I,
we've already decided on the second seat.
Why don't you meet our newest board member.
[door opens]
[laughs]
David!
Lovely to see you again, Arianna.
No one's smarter or more attuned to the moods of the populace
at a given time.
It's like she's psychic.
Plus, this little girl right here
makes one mean Greek omelet.
Hmm. I am thrilled by Uber's potential
to make the world a better place,
and to support Travis's vision in doing it.
Thank you, Arianna.
So now I have full confidence in this board's ability
to decide what's best for Uber.
Should we, uh, have that vote on tipping now, Billy?
Withdrawn.
House of Jealous Lovers
[all cheer]
You aren't just a boss, you are a motherfucking boss!
You did it!
Family business!
Settled!
[all cheer]
-[corks pop] -Hey, yo, where's Gabi?
Um...
Fuck it. Let's just go out.
Get some Ubers, let's go to a club of the adult variety.
-Oh, Gold Club! -Gold Club!
Tits on Travis! Tits on Travis!
[all, chanting] Tits on Travis! Tits on Travis!
Tits on Travis!
Tits on Travis! Tits on Travis!
[computerized chime]
[car alarm beeps]
[indistinct chatter over TV]
What the fuck?
-[all laugh] -Yeah, you get fucked up.
All right.
We can make it.
Ready?
Yo, man.
[all laughing]
I know who you are.
I'm me, man.
Thanks for all you do, brother.
[man] Eddy? Eddy...
this is a screenshot of their actual build.
[scoffs]
Tim, you're not gonna believe the shit
Uber's trying to pull.