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"Eventually, your Tesla will be able to drive anywhere across the country to meet you, charging itself along the way." In there lies perhaps a hint at a busine

"Eventually, your Tesla will be able to drive anywhere across the country to meet you, charging itself along the way." In there lies perhaps a hint at a business opportunity/solution to the renter problem: Tesla charging garages and comes to pick you up when you are ready to go. We certainly live in a Sci-fi movie.

kcorbitt 11y ago
Or, a platform for people to rent out their own driveways for migrant EVs to pull in and (pay for a) charge during the day.
- wahsd 11y ago
  Or simply a car club where you simply summon a Tesla (or any other brand) vehicle for transportation. I really don't even want to own a car. I would rather just call a car that will look like any of the other cars in the uniform fleet that will always be clean and smelling nice that I then get into and it takes me to my destination and then goes off to pick up someone else. I think Uber and Lyft and the established industry will start gearing up for a war for your transportation needs. If the Auto industry is smart and has learned something (which I really still need to be convinced of), they will start/are working on such a shared use fleet model because one way or another, in the future no one is going to own their own car. it's simply far too inefficient if the vehicle can drive itself. Why would you want a vehicle that sits idle 90% of the day?
  - Domenic_S 11y ago
    Some of us need to own cars. Those with children (unless you want to move carseats every day), those with special needs, the elderly and differently-abled to whom familiarity is extremely important. Those that live far away from paved roads and need trucks to get to town. Farmers and DIY enthusiasts that haul stuff every week. Others want to own cars because they like to modify them, or restore old ones. Personally I'm with you -- if I could pay a monthly fee and be able to summon a Tesla 3x/week, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I just can't see how we'd be a big slice of the market, which will keep innovation slow.
  - jeffwass 11y ago
    "Why would you want a vehicle that sits idle 90% of the day?" Some reasons I want my own car (note - I don't currently own one but rent occasionally) : - My kids' car seats are already installed and ready to go - My phone is already connected to the sound system, and ready to take calls, with contacts and built-in SatNav already knowing my home and work. - The car has the Accessories I prefer. Eg, the sound system I want with Bluetooth connectivity, built-in DVD player, seating (leather vs cloth vs vinyl) with the right amount of space and recline movement. - I'm familiar with all controls. How to set all lighting, interval wipers, and know how to set the climate control, and quickly defog. A uniform fleet addresses the 4th point only. Maybe the 3rd point if my preferences happen to align with the fleet's administrators. As a user of ZipCar for quick trips and traditional car rentals for longer trips, these are general points of annoyance for me.
    - mrgordon 11y ago
      I imagine you'd be able to pick from a few options as far as car type goes and then get a driverless car of that type. Once you knew which cars you like, then you could set it as a default option or something. Driverless cars would eliminate your concern about most of the controls anyway. It'd be easy enough to have a car seat option as Uber does: https://newsroom.uber.com/nyc/uberfamilyfor-parents-on-the-go/ https://newsroom.uber.com/nyc/uberfamilyfor-parents-on-the-g... Anyway, interesting to see your list of annoyances from real world usage of a car sharing service!
      - secabeen 11y ago
        The issue then becomes this: "uberFAMILY provides one forward-facing car seat for a child who is at least (a) 12 months old AND (b) 22 lbs. AND (c) 31 inches. A child is too big at 48 lbs. or 52 inches." What if you need two car seats, or if your kid is outside those parameters? You still need a seat. Likewise, adding these options can add significant delay to your getting a car. Most people are used to transportation being reliable. When you step out of your home or office, your car is there, ready to go. Having to wait an extra 15 minutes for the car to show up is not what most people want to do. I think car-sharing services will change things, quite a lot, but I don't think it will eliminate private car ownership. Most families will own one "family car" for road trips, etc, etc.
  - pilom 11y ago
    "Why would you want a vehicle that sits idle 90% of the day?" I don't, but I do want access to a cheap to operate vehicle that I can load my kayaks on top of and my camping gear inside of and then go drive to a river as far away from everyone else as I can get (9 hour drives are not uncommon). This is why an electric car will not meet my needs for the forseeable future. <30 min charging stations need to be as common as gas stations for me to even think about it.
sandworm101 11y ago
I see crowds of confused teslas huddled together in the midwest after a town changes some road signs without first informing Google. Or owners booking flights to tiny airports after their tesla uses the last few electrons in its battery to call for help because some kid taped over one of its sensors.
- m0dc 11y ago
  Sounds like an opportunity to sell some roadside assistance (either from Tesla directly, or from a third party that will pick up the slack otherwise).
csmattryder 11y ago
And I think this is where Musk's other venture, SolarCity, will likely come in to play. They'll have 'gas stations' across the US, where the Tesla charging tech will be installed for all EVs - though I'd assume Tesla to be a first-class citizen at these. Tesla always struck me as taking the 'Apple' route of logistics - controlling the supply chain from start to finish. I'd be surprised if they'd support third-party enterprise, but I doubt they'd attempt to undermine it.
- robszumski 11y ago
  This network is already built out (and getting bigger) and is in fact powered with SolarCity panels, but I assume most power still comes from the grid. https://www.teslamotors.com/supercharger https://www.teslamotors.com/supercharger

kcorbitt 11y ago

Or, a platform for people to rent out their own driveways for migrant EVs to pull in and (pay for a) charge during the day.

wahsd 11y ago
Or simply a car club where you simply summon a Tesla (or any other brand) vehicle for transportation. I really don't even want to own a car. I would rather just call a car that will look like any of the other cars in the uniform fleet that will always be clean and smelling nice that I then get into and it takes me to my destination and then goes off to pick up someone else. I think Uber and Lyft and the established industry will start gearing up for a war for your transportation needs. If the Auto industry is smart and has learned something (which I really still need to be convinced of), they will start/are working on such a shared use fleet model because one way or another, in the future no one is going to own their own car. it's simply far too inefficient if the vehicle can drive itself. Why would you want a vehicle that sits idle 90% of the day?
- Domenic_S 11y ago
  Some of us need to own cars. Those with children (unless you want to move carseats every day), those with special needs, the elderly and differently-abled to whom familiarity is extremely important. Those that live far away from paved roads and need trucks to get to town. Farmers and DIY enthusiasts that haul stuff every week. Others want to own cars because they like to modify them, or restore old ones. Personally I'm with you -- if I could pay a monthly fee and be able to summon a Tesla 3x/week, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I just can't see how we'd be a big slice of the market, which will keep innovation slow.
- jeffwass 11y ago
  "Why would you want a vehicle that sits idle 90% of the day?" Some reasons I want my own car (note - I don't currently own one but rent occasionally) : - My kids' car seats are already installed and ready to go - My phone is already connected to the sound system, and ready to take calls, with contacts and built-in SatNav already knowing my home and work. - The car has the Accessories I prefer. Eg, the sound system I want with Bluetooth connectivity, built-in DVD player, seating (leather vs cloth vs vinyl) with the right amount of space and recline movement. - I'm familiar with all controls. How to set all lighting, interval wipers, and know how to set the climate control, and quickly defog. A uniform fleet addresses the 4th point only. Maybe the 3rd point if my preferences happen to align with the fleet's administrators. As a user of ZipCar for quick trips and traditional car rentals for longer trips, these are general points of annoyance for me.
  - mrgordon 11y ago
    I imagine you'd be able to pick from a few options as far as car type goes and then get a driverless car of that type. Once you knew which cars you like, then you could set it as a default option or something. Driverless cars would eliminate your concern about most of the controls anyway. It'd be easy enough to have a car seat option as Uber does: https://newsroom.uber.com/nyc/uberfamilyfor-parents-on-the-go/ https://newsroom.uber.com/nyc/uberfamilyfor-parents-on-the-g... Anyway, interesting to see your list of annoyances from real world usage of a car sharing service!
    - secabeen 11y ago
      The issue then becomes this: "uberFAMILY provides one forward-facing car seat for a child who is at least (a) 12 months old AND (b) 22 lbs. AND (c) 31 inches. A child is too big at 48 lbs. or 52 inches." What if you need two car seats, or if your kid is outside those parameters? You still need a seat. Likewise, adding these options can add significant delay to your getting a car. Most people are used to transportation being reliable. When you step out of your home or office, your car is there, ready to go. Having to wait an extra 15 minutes for the car to show up is not what most people want to do. I think car-sharing services will change things, quite a lot, but I don't think it will eliminate private car ownership. Most families will own one "family car" for road trips, etc, etc.
- pilom 11y ago
  "Why would you want a vehicle that sits idle 90% of the day?" I don't, but I do want access to a cheap to operate vehicle that I can load my kayaks on top of and my camping gear inside of and then go drive to a river as far away from everyone else as I can get (9 hour drives are not uncommon). This is why an electric car will not meet my needs for the forseeable future. <30 min charging stations need to be as common as gas stations for me to even think about it.

sandworm101 11y ago

I see crowds of confused teslas huddled together in the midwest after a town changes some road signs without first informing Google. Or owners booking flights to tiny airports after their tesla uses the last few electrons in its battery to call for help because some kid taped over one of its sensors.

m0dc 11y ago
Sounds like an opportunity to sell some roadside assistance (either from Tesla directly, or from a third party that will pick up the slack otherwise).

csmattryder 11y ago

And I think this is where Musk's other venture, SolarCity, will likely come in to play. They'll have 'gas stations' across the US, where the Tesla charging tech will be installed for all EVs - though I'd assume Tesla to be a first-class citizen at these. Tesla always struck me as taking the 'Apple' route of logistics - controlling the supply chain from start to finish. I'd be surprised if they'd support third-party enterprise, but I doubt they'd attempt to undermine it.

robszumski 11y ago
This network is already built out (and getting bigger) and is in fact powered with SolarCity panels, but I assume most power still comes from the grid. https://www.teslamotors.com/supercharger https://www.teslamotors.com/supercharger