Uber CEO Compares Gruesome Murder to Fender Bender to Defend Saudi Investors
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi sat down for an interview with HBO and AXIOS to discuss the current state of the ride share company. This should been a relatively tame, straightforward interview that went unnoticed by most. However, when asked about one of Uber’s biggest investors, the Government of Saudi Arabia, Khosrowshahi could not help but put his foot in his mouth.
Uber CEO on Saudi Arabia's killing of Jamal Khashoggi: "It's a serious mistake. We've made mistakes too, right, with self-driving ... So I think that people make mistakes. It doesn't mean that they can never be forgiven" pic.twitter.com/EvinRrh3SE
— BNO News (@BNONews) November 11, 2019
Khosrowshahi was asked a straightforward question about the fact that he did not attend Saudi Arabia’s investor conference and whether that was related to the state sponsored murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey earlier this year. The CEO was initially elusive saying that the reason he went was a scheduled board meeting. When pressed, he said he did know if he would have gone if the meeting was not scheduled.
Saudi Arabia is Uber’s 5th largest investor and the Head of the Sovereign Wealth Fund on the Uber Board of Directors. When the question turned to the wealth fund manager and whether he should be reelected, things got even more awkward. Khosrowshahi eventually began defending the Saudi government’s murder of an American-based journalist saying, “That government said they make a mistake.”
When questioned in that answer Khosrowshahi continued digging a hole for himself saying, “It’s a serious mistake. We’ve made mistakes too, right, with self-driving … So, I think that people make mistakes. It doesn’t mean that they can never be forgive”
Once the clip of the interview a released, Khosrowshahi faced a wave of criticism for comparing an car accident, no matter how serious, to a brutal, clandestine, state-sponsored murder on foreign soil. Many took to social media to call out the “forgiving” CEO. The hashtag #BoycottUber was trending after the clip surfaced.
.@Uber seriously? Your moronic CEO just compared the calculated cold blooded murder of a journalist to self driving. And called pre meditated murder a mistake? GTFOH #deleteuber #BoycottUber https://t.co/ga46tCbGdT
— Caro (@carogonza) November 11, 2019
Evidently, #CluelessUberCEODude didn't realize that Jamal Khashoggi was lured into the Saudi consulate and chopped into pieces. JAMAL KHASHOGGI'S DEATH WAS NOT A MISTAKE, IT WAS A BRUTAL MURDER. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DISMEMBER SOMEONE, ACCIDENTALLY.#BoycottUber pic.twitter.com/LrIdPibPl7
— GuitarPoet, Kevin Gant (@gantman) November 11, 2019
Chopping someone up is not a mistake. It’s murder. Fuck Pro-Murder @uber #BoycottUber #promurder https://t.co/S9LmrtGu9G
— D. (@TheTrueBoricua) November 11, 2019