Uber Shrugged: Company Flees California for Red State to Test New Tech
Jon Gabriel, Ed.
December 23, 2016
 Gov. Doug Ducey welcomes Uber’s self-driving fleet to Arizona, Dec. 22, 2016. ( Photo source.) Silicon Valley is known as the home of tech innovation, so it’s no surprise Uber chose San Francisco as the test site for their ride-sharing app in 2011. But now that Uber’s successful, the once Golden State wants to tangle their future research in red tape.
Uber began testing a fleet of 16 self-driving Volvo SUVs in San Francisco on December 14. A week later, California’s Department of Motor Vehicles revoked all 16 registrations, insisting that a special permit was required and that Uber must publicly report statistics from their R&D program. Not wanting to invest millions in research to benefit their competitors, the company sought a state that celebrates entrepreneurship.
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey told Uber, “California may not want you, but we do.” So, on Thursday, the company shipped all their self-driving vehicles to the state capitol in Phoenix to be met personally by Ducey in a public celebration.
“Arizona welcomes Uber self-driving cars with open arms and wide open roads,” Ducey said in his statement. “While California puts the brakes on innovation and change with more bureaucracy and more regulation, Arizona is paving the way for new technology and new businesses. In 2015, I signed an executive order supporting the testing and operation of self-driving cars in Arizona with an emphasis on innovation, economic growth, and most importantly, public safety. This is about economic development, but it’s also about changing the way we live and work. Arizona is proud to be open for business.”
This is far from the first time a business has fled California’s anti-business climate. Arizona has gained 83 companies and more than 12,000 jobs due to California’s meddling bureaucracy, including investments by Google, Lucid Motors, and McKesson Corporation. Add in Texas, Nevada, and other red states, and you have an Atlas Shrugged-style exodus.
California’s losses and the rest of the southwest’s gains show what happens when government gets out of the way — and what happens when it doesn’t.
https://ricochet.com/398579/uber-shrugged-company-flees-california-red-state-test-new-tech/ |
