I understand that Khosrowshahi is concerned that paying his drivers would adversely impact his stock options, but Uber literally has nothing but its dominance of the app based cab space.

If they shut down for a week, they will lose market share in California that they will NEVER get back.  They have no unique technology, no copyright or patent exclusivity, and very little in the way of good will from their customers or their drivers.

As an aside, now is the time for a couple of coder dudes to set up a app based driver cooperative:

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi is warning that a landmark California ruling on the employment status of its drivers could force the company to shut down its service in California until November.

“We think we comply by the laws,” Khosrowshahi said on MSNBC. “But if the judge and the court finds that we’re not, and they don’t give us a stay to get to November, then we’ll have to essentially shut down Uber until November when the voters decide.”

………

After the law passed last year, Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash spent more than $100 million gathering signatures for a voter initiative that would overturn the law. It is slated to appear on the ballot in November. 

Do you want some cheese for that whine?