Uber's robotaxi edge: human drivers

Uber's big bet on self-driving cars is finding an unexpected boost from its existing fleet of human drivers. The company believes that combining its autonomous vehicles with its human-driven fleet can keep the expensive robotaxi units in operation more frequently, thus increasing profitability. Essentially, the idea is to use human drivers to maximize the usage of these costly autonomous vehicles, much like how airplanes are kept profitable whether they're flying or sitting on the tarmac. This hybrid approach could reshape the economics of autonomous vehicle deployment.