Eighteen years ago, two computer engineers said to be frustrated by their experience ordering a taxi in Paris hatched a wild idea: a mobile app that would allow users to hail a ride from their smartphones. Their startup, known as Uber, initially clawed its way to success with a growth-at-all-costs strategy that sometimes involved operating without municipal consent, ignoring court orders and clashing with local regulations. That ethos catapulted the maverick company to the top of the ride-sharing business, with its gig drivers providing nearly 14 billion trips last year globally. Now, the San Francisco tech giant is at a crossroads, waging a bitter fight with state trial lawyers involving dueling ballot measures while it faces a raft of sexual assault lawsuits that could significantly increase its legal costs. The outcome of the fight could have ramifications not only for California consumers, but for Uber’s ability to finance a multibillion-dollar expansion into the all-important robotaxi business — where it faces increasing competition from Waymo and Tesla. “Uber is facing an existential threat where they’re not …