Tesla tips more details of self-driving ridesharing service

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Tesla has let slip some more information on its upcoming ridesharing program, which will eventually let the company's cars pick up fares while their owners stay at home or at work, cutting the cost of ownership.




"Please note that using a self-driving Tesla for car sharing and ride hailing for friends and family is fine, but doing so for revenue purposes will only be permissible on the Tesla Network, details of which will be released next year," Tesla said in a disclaimer about its Model S line, which can now be bought with the hardware -- though not the software -- for full self-driving capabilities. The text was highlighted by Reuters.

CEO Elon Musk teased a ridesharing service in July as a part of new corporate plans. Until now, though, Tesla has mentioned extremely little, beyond the fact that people would be able to add their cars to a Tesla fleet via a phone app. In cities where there aren't many Teslas on the road, the automaker said it plans to offer ride hailing on its own.

The company may be poised to offer competition for firms like Uber and Lyft, though it would likely have to run many vehicles itself to pose a competitive threat.

Apple could theoretically go in the same direction with its own rumored car, but the fate of that project is in the air. While engineers are still believed to be developing self-driving systems, the company is reportedly waiting until late 2017 to decide whether it wants to build its own car or partner with an existing manufacturer.

Tesla is meanwhile making rapid progress in autonomous systems. The Model S already has limited driving assists in its "Autopilot" technology, and next year the company is hoping to have a test vehicle drive itself cross-country from Los Angeles to New York. Full autonomy will only come to the public in stages, dependent not just on AI improvements but clearing legal barriers.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18
    Preventing Tesla owners from using their own vehicles for their own benefit? Yeah, I don't think that'll hold water if challenged in court.
    rogifan_newcalijay-t
  • Reply 2 of 18
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    Your car arrives back at your place of work followed by four police cars and a stash of grade-a cocaine in the passenger seat. 

    entropysbadmonkfreshmaker
  • Reply 3 of 18
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    Could Apple's plans re autonomous vehicles be to create a self driving 'bubble' type car to be deployed on a fleet basis for companies like Didi? I wonder if the Didi's and the Uber's of this world will be Apple's primary customers. What Tesla is doing with the S model is very different. It is hard to imagine a car like the S-model being the dominant autonomous car-for-revenue model. It is way too much of a car, too expensive and to bulky. That is not to say that if you want to own a Tesla and can't afford it, or just want to put it to revenue generating use, you won't be able to. There will be plenty of room for different business models. It is just that as urban sprawls become denser and more populous and traffic becomes more difficult, and car ownership becomes (already is) extremely expensive, the Uber style fleet model seems a like a likely scenario.

    edited October 2016 doozydozenentropys
  • Reply 4 of 18
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    Can the car take itself to be valeted after the Tesla network hires it out to stag party? 
  • Reply 5 of 18
    Telsa is king!
  • Reply 6 of 18
    dws-2dws-2 Posts: 276member
    Hmmm, based on my experience in a Tesla, I feel like it's pretty far away from driving itself. I wonder if this is just Musk pressing forward relentlessly rather than something that will actually be working anytime soon.
    entropys
  • Reply 7 of 18
    holyoneholyone Posts: 398member
    Rayz2016 said:
    Your car arrives back at your place of work followed by four police cars and a stash of grade-a cocaine in the passenger seat. 

    Funniest comment of the month.  :D

    That'be the most hilarious live news event ever
  • Reply 8 of 18
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • Reply 9 of 18
    dklebedev said:
    Preventing Tesla owners from using their own vehicles for their own benefit? Yeah, I don't think that'll hold water if challenged in court.
    Easy. Autopilot software will come with a license that limits commercial use to Tesla Network. It's not like it's something new. You can't legally use bought music at a party. And a lot of apps are licensed for private use. Plus Tesla probably has good reasons to put up restrictions.
    Legal liability would still be on the vehicle owner. It really has the appearance that Tesla is engaging in restraint of trade, attempting to prevent Uber or Lyft drivers from using property they own in a manner that benefits them.
    edited October 2016 entropys
  • Reply 10 of 18

    dklebedev said:
    Preventing Tesla owners from using their own vehicles for their own benefit? Yeah, I don't think that'll hold water if challenged in court.
    Easy. Autopilot software will come with a license that limits commercial use to Tesla Network. It's not like it's something new. You can't legally use bought music at a party. And a lot of apps are licensed for private use. Plus Tesla probably has good reasons to put up restrictions.
    Yes, but CDs and music streams don't wrap themselves around telephone poles. ;) This is a little bit different, and yes, it's something new.

    It's also pretty silly the way they proceed as though these vehicles even being approved for use is a foregone conclusion. Just a tad arrogant and presumptuous, don't you think? At this point, pretty much all evidence points to full on, level 4 or 5 autonomy just being a pipe dream at this point. I wouldn't get too excited about this news.
  • Reply 11 of 18
    flootist said:

    dklebedev said:
    Preventing Tesla owners from using their own vehicles for their own benefit? Yeah, I don't think that'll hold water if challenged in court.
    Easy. Autopilot software will come with a license that limits commercial use to Tesla Network. It's not like it's something new. You can't legally use bought music at a party. And a lot of apps are licensed for private use. Plus Tesla probably has good reasons to put up restrictions.
    Yes, but CDs and music streams don't wrap themselves around telephone poles. ;) This is a little bit different, and yes, it's something new.

    It's also pretty silly the way they proceed as though these vehicles even being approved for use is a foregone conclusion. Just a tad arrogant and presumptuous, don't you think? At this point, pretty much all evidence points to full on, level 4 or 5 autonomy just being a pipe dream at this point. I wouldn't get too excited about this news.
    Pipe dream? I don't think so. Tesla appears to be making the most real-world progress of any company at this point.
    lostkiwidoozydozen
  • Reply 12 of 18
    Upcoming? I think Tesla and Musk are WAY overestimating how close they are and the industry is to completely driverless cars and cars that can be driving around empty all on their own.  I watched that latest video of the Tesla driving around with no-one in it, there are so many unsolved issues with that.  What happens if that car accidentally hit some kid on his bike, even if it's the kids fault?  Who would call the police?  What if the car doesn't detect the pedestrian is hurt and just sits there or drives away?  We gotta figure out how to get solid level 3+ autonomy first.  
    edited October 2016
  • Reply 13 of 18
    quinneyquinney Posts: 2,528member
    dklebedev said:
    Preventing Tesla owners from using their own vehicles for their own benefit? Yeah, I don't think that'll hold water if challenged in court.
    Easy. Autopilot software will come with a license that limits commercial use to Tesla Network. It's not like it's something new. You can't legally use bought music at a party. And a lot of apps are licensed for private use. Plus Tesla probably has good reasons to put up restrictions.
    Legal liability would still be on the vehicle owner. It really has the appearance that Tesla is engaging in restraint of trade, attempting to prevent Uber or Lyft drivers from using property they own in a manner that benefits them.
    They can drive for Uber or Lyft all they want, as long as they are doing the driving.  What they can't do is use Tesla (via its software) as a driver for another company.
  • Reply 14 of 18
    dcgoodcgoo Posts: 280member
    flootist said:

    It's also pretty silly the way they proceed as though these vehicles even being approved for use is a foregone conclusion. Just a tad arrogant and presumptuous, don't you think? At this point, pretty much all evidence points to full on, level 4 or 5 autonomy just being a pipe dream at this point. I wouldn't get too excited about this news.
    You don't get what you don't ask for
  • Reply 15 of 18
    I truly wish the interior and exterior styling were improved, especially in the S. Dont even get me started on the looks of the X....

    Both look dated. 
    edited October 2016
  • Reply 16 of 18
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,152member
    I suspect the type of vehicle that would be useful for this kind of activity would not be any current design Tesla. It would more likely be specifically designed and be sold almost exclusively to fleets. Like the Johnny Cars in Verhoeven's version of Total Recall*.  More like a London cab than a Tesla model S, although there would be different designs for different purposes. Assuming the regulatory hurdles can be met.

    *competing companies could differentiate by having different [dead] celebrity puppet drivers.  Just imagine. In fifty years' time you could have Sean Connery driving you about in an imitation DB5, and the next day jump into a beige Hillary Clinton people mover. Or bill Murray driving an Ecto1.
    edited October 2016
  • Reply 17 of 18
    palegolaspalegolas Posts: 1,361member
    Apple would probably do the same, restrain autonomous ride sharing use to the Apple network. I think it's wise, at least the first 10 years or so, until autonomous cars are getting really really trustworthy. Keep it close, analyse the autonomous data, perfect it. Letting your brand new tesla out of sight to fetch unknown customers is not something I'd do, but very rich people tend to like business, and are likely happy to buy a few cars and let them work for you while you get a tan by the pool.
  • Reply 18 of 18
    chris_cachris_ca Posts: 2,543member
    Tesla has let slip some more information on its upcoming ridesharing program, which will eventually let the company's cars pick up fares while their owners stay at home or at work, cutting the cost of ownership.
    How exactly is it going to cut the cost of ownership?
    It’s not.
    Actually, just the opposite. More miles driven means more maintenance.

    You can earn money by letting your car be part of Tesla’s ride sharing network but that won’t lower the TCO.
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