Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi Under Fire for Calling the Murder of Jamal Khashoggi ‘A Mistake’
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi is coming under heavy criticism for his remarks on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
During an interview with Axios on HBO which aired Sunday night, Khosrowshahi was asked whether Yasir bin Othman Al-Rumayyan, the head of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, should retain his seat on the board of Uber.
“That government said that they made a mistake,” Khosrowshahi said of the Saudis. He added, “It’s a serious mistake. We’ve made mistakes too, right? With self-driving, and 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’ve taken it seriously.”
According to Axios, Saudi Arabia is the fifth largest shareholder in Uber.
The day after the interview was filmed, Khosrowshahi emailed a statement to Axios, trying to walk back his comments.
“I said something in the moment that I do not believe. When it comes to Jamal Khashoggi, his murder was reprehensible and should not be forgotten or excused,” Khosrowshahi said in his statement.
But that statement did little to sate many observers — as the hashtag BoycottUber began to trend.
Everyone who uses Uber should consider the implications of @dkhos‘s words
If one of @Uber‘s main investors kills someone it doesn’t really matter. A representative of a murderous regime can still keep a board seat.
When you’re rich, your crimes become “mistakes”. #BoycottUber
— Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) November 11, 2019
This is unbelievable. @dkhos needs to say much much more by way of apology, and say it way more prominently. @karaswisher can probably provide the platform he’ll want. Or part of it; I suspect he’ll want to buy a full-page apology ad in @KarenAttiah’s paper as well. https://t.co/PGhZQrxToH
— Trey Graham (@treygraham) November 11, 2019
Because murdering of a journalist equates ride share corporate mistakes?
Shameful @dkhos & @Uber https://t.co/2XcEgDDhZ4— Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) November 11, 2019
Interesting. But @dkhos doesn’t discuss his decision to stay out of KSA.
He discusses his conviction that the bonesaw dismemberment of Khashoggi was a “mistake.”
He also discusses why MBS’s close adviser Yasir Al-Rumayyan is a fab board member at the 10% Saudi-owned Uber. https://t.co/6kIdBPSx0r
— Virginia Heffernan (@page88) November 11, 2019
Mind-blowing. Not a good look for Uber or @dkhos. Kudos to @danprimack for the great questions. https://t.co/exUXHRXGPX
— Tim Stenovec (@timsteno) November 11, 2019
Watch above, via HBO.
