Seeing some Uber/Lyft takes like “can’t believe they’d be willing to forfeit all profit from California rather than treat their drivers well” and I think the thing that a lot of people need to understand is that Uber and Lyft are not profitable. They’re not supposed to be.

Uber and Lyft are funded by Angel investors who hope to expand the market of ride shares as a percentage of transit in order to destroy public transit, traditional cabs, etc.

The goal is not to make money now, it’s to destroy existing infrastructure so they can control it later

To the best of my knowledge, neither Uber nor Lyft have ever actually turned profits.

Giving up California is less damaging to their long term goal than a precedent that they need to appropriately compensate drivers.