#DeleteUber coup: CEO Travis Kalanick resigns from Trump's board

UPDATED 4:15 p.m. PT with CEO Travis Kalanick's memo to Uber staff.

#DeleteUber may have actually forced something to change at Uber.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick will step down from President Donald Trump's economic advisory council, he told Uber employees in an email Thursday.

“Earlier today I spoke briefly with the president about the immigration executive order and its issues for our community,” Kalanick wrote, according to an email obtained by Mashable. “I also let him know that I would not be able to participate on his economic council. Joining the group was not meant to be an endorsement of the president or his agenda but unfortunately it has been misinterpreted to be exactly that.”

Criticism against the company reached a fever pitch last weekend, when thousands of users contacted Uber to delete their accounts as a campaign to #DeleteUber spread across social media.

The outcry ignited when Uber tweeted that it would not apply surge pricing at John F. Kennedy International Airport while New York City taxi drivers were striking at the airport. Many interpreted that move by Uber as breaking the taxi drivers' strike, which was in protest of Trump's travel and immigration ban for people from seven Muslim-majority countries.

#DeleteUber got so out of control that Uber had to automate its once-manual account deletion process.

The surge pricing announcement, coupled with Kalanick's role on Trump's advisory council, caused many Uber users — or former users — to associate the company with Trump. Kalanick was one of several business leaders on the advisory council, along with Tesla founder Elon Musk who, at time of writing, remained part of it.

Kalanick defended his role advising the Trump administration last week at an "all hands" meeting with staff.

"We'll partner with anyone in the world as long they're about making transportation in cities better, creating job opportunities, making it easier to get around, getting pollution out of the air and traffic off the streets," Kalanick told employees, according to CNN.

"It's about the leaders we have to work with around the world, not just here in the United States but everywhere," Kalanick said.

Read Kalanick's memo in full:

Dear Team,

Earlier today I spoke briefly with the President about the immigration executive order and its issues for our community. I also let him know that I would not be able to participate on his economic council. Joining the group was not meant to be an endorsement of the President or his agenda but unfortunately it has been misinterpreted to be exactly that. I spent a lot of time thinking about this and mapping it to our values. There are a couple that are particularly relevant: Inside Out - The implicit assumption that Uber (or I) was somehow endorsing the Administration’s agenda has created a perception-reality gap between who people think we are, and who we actually are. Just Change - We must believe that the actions we take ultimately move the ball forward. There are many ways we will continue to advocate for just change on immigration but staying on the council was going to get in the way of that. The executive order is hurting many people in communities all across America. Families are being separated, people are stranded overseas and there’s a growing fear the U.S. is no longer a place that welcomes immigrants. Immigration and openness to refugees is an important part of our country’s success and quite honestly to Uber’s. I am incredibly proud to work directly with people like Thuan and Emil, both of whom were refugees who came here to build a better life for themselves. I know it has been a tough week for many of you and your families, as well as many thousands of drivers whose stories are heartfelt and heart-wrenching. Please know, your questions and stories on Tuesday, along with what I heard from drivers, have kept me resilient and reminded me of one of our most essential cultural values, Be Yourself. We will fight for the rights of immigrants in our communities so that each of us can be who we are with optimism and hope for the future.