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Uber Has Literally Taken Its Toys from San Francisco and Moved Them to Arizona

In case you missed it, there was a short but intense war going on in San Francisco between Uber and California DMV. And if you read the title, it's pretty obvious who won.
Uber self-driving fleet leaving SF 5 photos
Photo: Uber
Uber self-driving fleet leaving SFUber self-driving fleet leaving SFUber self-driving fleet leaving SFUber self-driving fleet leaving SF
If you want to know a little more about it, here's a very quick rundown. Uber started a service offering self-driving rides to its clients without obtaining a permit from the local DMV. A few hours after the project's debut, one of Uber's cars (it uses Volvo XC90 SUVs) ran a red light and went dangerously close to a man who was getting ready to cross.

Naturally, the DMV asked Uber to halt its program until the proper papers were signed. The ride-hailing company, on the other hand, refused, clinging to a technicality in the way the DMV defined autonomous cars, claiming its vehicles did not fall in that category.

The California DMV was not impressed, so it organized a meeting with Uber representatives and informed them that their cars' registrations had been revoked until the company filed for the permit and got it. Uber did not like it so it told the DMV what it could do with its permit.

That was yesterday. Today, Uber's self-driving Volvo XC90s were loaded on flatbed trailers and moved to Arizona, where The Verge says the company has the support of Governor Doug Ducey. Apparently, Mr. Ducey doesn't mind having a few cars that don't always stop for red and seem to have a problem with bicyclists (oh, we forgot to mention that) zipping around his state.

In fact, reading his statement you get the feeling there's a bit of bad blood between the Governor and the state of California: “While California puts the brakes on innovation and change with more bureaucracy and more regulation," it reads, "Arizona is paving the way for new technology and new businesses.” Well, good for Arizona.

Uber took its troll level up a notch by having the trailers carrying its 16 Volvos to Arizona pulled by Otto's self-driving semis. Still, since they didn't have a permit, the trucks were driven by your regular truck drivers.
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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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