Product design question

We are in the year 2050, and the concept of the driverless car has been perfected. What future problems might Uber face, and how can they be addressed?

Practice this question out loud. An AI interviewer asks it, follows up like a real interviewer would, and scores your answer. Type or speak.

What this question tests

Whether the candidate can think ahead strategically about how a core technology shift changes a company's competitive position and business model.

State the premise clearly: driverless technology removes the driver as both a cost center and a differentiator, changing Uber's competitive dynamics.
Identify new problems: driver-facing challenges (recruitment, earnings, satisfaction) disappear, but fleet ownership, maintenance, and vehicle utilization become new core problems.
Identify competitive risk: car manufacturers (Tesla, Waymo) could operate their own fleets directly, disintermediating Uber's marketplace role entirely.
Propose a strategic response: Uber shifts from a driver marketplace to a fleet operations and demand-routing platform, or partners with manufacturers rather than competing with them.
Name the key risk: if Uber doesn't own the technology or the fleet, its main remaining value is the demand-side brand and app, which is a much thinner moat.

Identifies disintermediation by vehicle manufacturers as the central strategic threat, not just a minor operational shift.
Reframes Uber's core asset from 'driver marketplace' to 'demand aggregation and routing', showing understanding of what actually persists as valuable.
Proposes a concrete strategic response, partnering with or licensing to manufacturers, rather than assuming Uber's position is unchanged.

Treating the shift as purely operational (no more driver management) without addressing the competitive threat.
Ignoring that Uber's core moat today, network of drivers, disappears entirely in this future.

Would Uber be better off owning its own driverless fleet or staying asset-light?
What would Uber's business model look like if it lost the demand-aggregation role too?