Im pretty sure their plan from was to build a large enough user base to be in a leading position to switch to robotaxis as soon as they are available and I think that’s what many of their backers are funding.
With robotaxis being likely about 5 year or so from being approved in major metropolitan areas without any shenanigans from the cab cartels Uber can afford to bleed money until then and then just switch.
Audi is releasing L4 cars in Europe this year which will allow you to take the back seat during traffic.
While I don’t think anyone will be releasing L5 before 2020 I wouldn’t bet against that for a 2022-2023 time frame.
Don’t get me wrong I dislike Uber and AirB&B with passion for their predatory practices but I also don’t like cartels the cab and car hire companies in London had a decade to get their shit together when the ride hailing apps / websites began popping up in the late 2000s and in all honesty they only turned worse.
NVIDIA is set to deliver their L5 platform in mid 2018, they have the automotive safety certification and compute power (300> TOPs of int8 inference) to meet expected L5 requirements.
And they aren’t alone in this game.
Beyond this it’s a legal issue once a precedent will be set however I think it will open the flood gates.