Waymo started a war with Uber, and it could be Uber's downfall (GOOG)

The real war for Uber's future began this week.Even though thecompany plans asci-fi flying-car announcement, its real (and more realistic) ambition is to replaceits network of human-driven vehicles witha fleet of self-driving cars.Uber CEO Travis Kalanick even said as much in an interview with Business Insider last year when Uber announced it would start testing self-driving vehicles in Pittsburgh.But Waymo, the Alphabet company that spun out of Google's self-driving car project, is battling Uber on its own turf. Waymo announced on Tuesday that it has been quietly testing its automated Uber-like systemin Phoenix, Arizona, another cityUber has been testing in since early this year. Now, Waymo will let anyone in the area sign up to test the service for free.Waymo's ambition is clear: to use its near decade of expertise in self-driving cars to create a better, safer version of Uber. Andit wants to get there before Uber does.It's the next battlefront inWaymo's budding war with Uber. On one front, you have Waymo testing its self-driving, on-demand car service in the same city Uber is. On the other front, Waymo is suing Uber, claiming the companystole key self-driving technology called lidar.And if Waymo wins its lawsuit, it could dismantle Uber's stated goal to one day automate all of its cars, giving Waymo a clear path to dominate the future of on-demand transportation.In short, Waymo is trying to be thenext Uber before Uber can be the next Uber.There's no way to predict which company will win the war today, but it is clear that neither company wants to come in second place.According to Kalanick himself, it'd be a disaster for his company if it can't be the first to a self-driving car service."If we are not tied for first, then the person who is in first, or the entity that's in first, then rolls out a ride-sharing network that is far cheaper or far higher-quality than Uber's, then Uber is no longer a thing," Kalanicktold Business Insider inlast year's interview.One of those entities Kalanick was referring to'Waymo.SEE ALSO:Google is asking for your help to spot fake newsJoin the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: We got a ride in a self-driving Uber ' here's what it was like
Click here to read full news..