Uber CEO: 'To Say I Am Ashamed Is Understatement'

Travis Kalanick caught on video arguing with driver
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 1, 2017 2:16 AM CST

"To say I am ashamed is an understatement," Uber CEO Travis Kalanick said in an email to staff after video of him arguing with a driver surfaced. In the video, Uber driver Fawzi Kamel provided to Bloomberg, Kamel argues about falling fares for the high-end UberBlack service at the end of the CEO's ride on Super Bowl Sunday. "You're raising the standards, and you're dropping the prices," he tells Kalanick. After more discussion, the driver tells Kalanick: "People are not trusting you anymore. I lost $97,000 because of you. I'm bankrupt because of you." Kalanick denies that UberBlack prices had dropped as much as the driver says, telling him "Bullshit."

The CEO tells the driver: "Some people don't like to take responsibility for their own s---. They blame everything in their life on somebody else. Good luck!" and then gets out, slamming the door. Kamel then gives his passenger a one-star rating. In his email to staff, Kalanick apologizes for his behavior. " It's clear this video is a reflection of me—and the criticism we've received is a stark reminder that I must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up," he writes. "This is the first time I've been willing to admit that I need leadership help and I intend to get it." (This week, a top Uber exec quit after a sexual harassment allegation surfaced.)

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