a decade ago, Uber’s then-CEO Travis Kalanick said he viewed autonomous vehicles as an existential threat to the transportation company’s business model.

“What if we weren’t part of that future? If we weren’t part of autonomy? Then the future passes us by,” Kalanick told Business Insider.

In the years since then, Uber has opted for a strategy that, rather than building and operating its own autonomous vehicles, puts it on track to become the place where users can connect with any vehicle, driven by a human or a robot. “We believe there will be many audiovisual players around the world and we want to be the go-to business platform for all of them,” now-CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told investors in 2024. Since then, the company has signed deals with more than 25 major robotaxi players, with self-driving vehicles from Waymo, Nuro, Baidu and Volkswagen’s MOIA available or soon to be available on the Uber app in several cities around the world.

Now, according to documents seen by WIRED and another obtained through a public records request, Uber lobbyists are pushing to turn that strategy into law. Company representatives have pressed lawmakers to deploy autonomous vehicles on what they call “hybrid networks,” where human drivers work alongside robots as the new technology grows.

In New Jersey, a lobbyist representing Uber took the strategy a step further, circulating legislative text that would require, over a three-year period, any platform offering driverless transportation services to have human drivers handling 85 percent of its trips.

The language would likely prevent autonomous vehicle developers, including Waymo, Zoox and Tesla, from operating their own transportation apps in the state, effectively forcing them to use another transportation app if they hope to enter the market and limiting competition for Uber, the country’s reigning leader in transportation.

An Uber representative presented a version of the proposal to New Jersey state senator Andrew Zwicker, according to his chief of staff, Ayla Ríos. Zwicker is the sponsor of a bill currently being considered by the state legislature that would establish New Jersey’s first set of rules regulating autonomous vehicles on public roads. Language proposed by Uber lobbyists restricting independent robotaxi-hailing apps is not currently part of the bill, which could come up for a vote this fall.

The New Jersey bill is the first proposed in the country that would limit the operation of Tesla robotaxis, because it requires AV developers to use multiple sensors to power their software, rather than just cameras, as Tesla’s technology does. It would also require the vehicles to be operated in emergencies using steering wheels and brake pedals, something purpose-built robotaxis like Zoox’s don’t have.

In Washington, D.C., where autonomous vehicle developers including Waymo are locked in a months-long battle to allow robotaxi services to operate in the District, Uber representatives also sought to ensure that “hybrid networks” were the future of hail transportation.

A bill introduced by Councilman Charles Allen in April would allow driverless services on D.C. public roads under certain conditions. In an email sent more than a week before the legislation was introduced and obtained by WIRED through a public records request, Uber lobbyist LáVita Gardner thanked a member of Allen’s staff for committing to allowing transportation companies like Uber to participate in the district’s autonomous vehicle program. “Enabling hybrid networks will be critical to a smooth transition that supports both technology and human drivers,” Gardner wrote. (The D.C. bill will be subject to a hearing on Monday and has not yet been voted on.)