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The author makes some really good points.

It's kind of hard to think of what value Uber could really bring to the car industry in the scenario he outlines. Google and others are far ahead on autonomous driving tech. A ride hailing app itself isn't very hard to build.

One path where they might succeed is if the design and functionality needed for an autonomous fleet car is radically different from that of a car today. Existing manufacturers would likely be slow to adapt. If Uber started manufacturing cars themselves, and did it in a way that tapped into these new desires, then perhaps they could create by the best rider experience and capture a premium while competitors whithered. Still that seems like a long shot.