So now, their only way to grow is to race to the bottom on price and undercut their competitors. And the only way to do that is to light billions of VC dollars on fire in the form of subsidized trips. That money isn't being invested in R&D or any form of innovation, just bridging the price gap between what the ride should cost (because of driver + vehicle costs) and what they are charging (which is a stupid low price most of the time).
The longshot they're taking on innovating by transitioning to self driving cars is downright reckless considering nearly all experts agree we're at a MINIMUM 5 years off from anything feasible in the real world, more likely 10+ years.
So they're going to have to raise their prices, or continue raising funds at an absurd rate (mind you, they've already raised $13,000,000,000 damn dollars). And they'll have to continue to light that VC money on fire in subsidized rides, rather than innovating on their product, because there's not really any other way to innovate on these rides.
As for the subsidies, I can't even understand why they are lowering their prices so aggressively anymore. It feels like each time I get into an Uber it's slightly cheaper. I was happy paying $25 for an uber to the airport rather than $30 for a cab, but now it's something like $14, which is great for my wallet, but I really don't even need it that cheap. It's bizarre.