---
title: "Uber CEO Compares Self-Driving Car Crash to Murdering Journalists"
description: "Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi compared his company's self-driving car killing someone to Saudi Arabia murdering a journalist, calling both simple mistakes."
date: "2019-11-11"
modified: "2019-11-11"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/uber-ceo-compares-self-driving-car-crash-murdering-journalists"
categories:
  - "Advanced Transport"
  - "Self-Driving Vehicles"
tags:
  - "Saudi Arabia"
  - "self driving car"
  - "the digest"
  - "Uber"
---

# Uber CEO Compares Self-Driving Car Crash to Murdering Journalists

![Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi compared his company's self-driving car killing someone to Saudi Arabia murdering a journalist, calling both simple mistakes.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/uber-ceo-self-driving-car-casualty-murdering-journalists.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Ecole polytecnique/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Forgive And Forget

Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, humbly requests that we forgive and forget that one of his company's self-driving cars [killed someone last year](<https://gizmodo.com/uber-ceo-says-murder-of-journalist-by-saudi-government-1839766247>).

On Sunday's episode of "Axios on HBO," Khosrowshahi compared the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of the Saudi Arabian government to the pedestrian who was [struck and killed](<https://futurism.com/uber-autonomous-vehicles-pittsburgh>) by one of his company's self-driving cars, [according to *Gizmodo*](<https://gizmodo.com/uber-ceo-says-murder-of-journalist-by-saudi-government-1839766247>). Bizarrely, Saudi Arabia's sovereign investment fund happens to be a major investor in Uber, and the fund's governor sits on Uber's board.

"I think the government said they made a mistake" by killing Khashoggi, Khosrowshahi said on the program. "It's a serious mistake. We've made mistakes too. We stopped driving and we’re recovering from that mistake. I think that people make mistakes. It doesn’t mean that they can never be forgiven. I think they have taken it seriously."

## 180 Noscope

After the episode ran, Khosrowshahi sent a [statement to *Axios*](<https://www.axios.com/uber-ceo-saudi-arabia-jamal-khashoggi-mistake-92865f2a-d97c-4d6a-b171-5e7c0a69e77a.html>) completely reversing what he said, presumably because Uber's press team heard his original comments and suffered a collective freakout.

"I said something in the moment that I do not believe," Khosrowshahi told *Axios* in the statement. "When it comes to Jamal Khashoggi, his murder was reprehensible and should not be forgotten or excused."

## Grain Of Truth

That's not to say Uber didn't make mistakes.

Reports recently surfaced that Uber never programmed its self-driving car AI [to detect jaywalkers](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/self-driving-uber-killed-woman-jaywalkers>), an oversight that likely contributed to the death of Elaine Herzberg, [who was killed](<https://futurism.com/ubers-self-driving-car-decided-swerve>) by an experimental self-driving car last year.

**READ MORE:** [Uber CEO Says Murder of Journalist By Saudi Government Was 'Mistake' That Can Be Forgiven](<https://gizmodo.com/uber-ceo-says-murder-of-journalist-by-saudi-government-1839766247>) \[*Gizmodo*\]

**More on transport:** *[Self-Driving Uber That Killed Woman Didn’t Know Jaywalkers Exist](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/self-driving-uber-killed-woman-jaywalkers>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)