Uber was the first to encounter this towering wall of skepticism. Kalanick and his colleagues were flying high after the introduction of UberX in 2013. Their continued success bred a sense of invincibility and fortified the arrogance that had already permeated their dealings with competitors and regulators. Uber’s executives looked down from their perch and, seeing the historic opportunities before them, tried to conquer the world. The world looked up and, for a long moment, wasn’t so sure that it liked what it saw.
