Uber has purchased 50,000 Tesla vehicles to lend to its drivers as part of an ambitious strategy to electrify its fleet in the United States by 2030. The ride-hailing startup is collaborating with Hertz, which said yesterday that it has ordered 100,000 Teslas.
The decision comes as car firms and transit providers throughout the world face governmental pressure to phase out gas-powered vehicles in favor of zero-emission vehicles. California, the country’s largest car market, imposed rules on ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft, requiring that 90 percent of their fleets be electric by 2030.
Uber has purchased 50,000 Tesla vehicles to lend to its drivers as part of an ambitious strategy to electrify its fleet in the United States by 2030. The ride-hailing startup is collaborating with Hertz, which said yesterday that it has ordered 100,000 Teslas.
The decision comes as car firms and transit providers throughout the world face governmental pressure to phase out gas-powered vehicles in favor of zero-emission vehicles. California, the country’s largest car market, imposed rules on ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft, requiring that 90 percent of their fleets be electric by 2030.
With a weekly charge of $334, it may be difficult to entice drivers to the program, but Uber is convinced that drivers will see the value in fuel savings and reduced maintenance. Drivers who use hybrid or electric vehicles to pick up passengers receive an additional 50 cents every ride, while drivers who use particularly battery-electric vehicles receive an additional dollar — for a total of $1.50 per ride. According to Autos.com, the average weekly cost of a Hertz rental car ranges from about $150 to roughly $325.
To be qualified to hire a Tesla, drivers must first have a 4.7-star rating and have completed at least 150 trips.
Uber made the audacious claim last year to go “100% electric” in the United States, Canada, and Europe by 2030, and by 2040 for the rest of the world. The firm also stated that it would spend $800 million to assist “hundreds of thousands of drivers in the United States, Canada, and Europe in transitioning to battery EVs by 2025” – however a representative refused to discuss the financial details of the company’s arrangement with Hertz.
Uber’s past with automobile rentals and leases isn’t quite pristine. After drivers complained about amassing debt to pay excessive interest rates, the business shut down a subprime auto loan program. Uber emphasizes that this new service is intended to appeal primarily to drivers who rent, rather than to persuade drivers to switch from owning to renting.
Ride-hailing was initially marketed to the public as a more ecologically friendly alternative to individual car ownership. However, it was discovered that the opposite was true. Numerous studies have found that the average ride-hailing journey emits approximately 50% more pollution than a traditional automobile trip. Worse, more than half of all ride-hailing journeys in big cities are taken by people who would have otherwise taken a cleaner mode of transportation to their destination.
According to Bloomberg, fewer than 1% of ride-hailing vehicles in the United States are electric now. Even though electric vehicles account for less than 5% of annual sales, the auto industry is in the midst of a tremendous transformation to them.
Uber isn’t the first company to use Tesla vehicles for ride-hailing. Earlier this year, the moped rental firm e-nyc-tesla-model-y-moped-uber”>Revel launched its own Uber-like ride-hailing service in New York City, complete with 50 brilliant blue Tesla Model Y vehicles.
