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I do not know Uber's plan, but assuming they're too smart to do something dumb is pretty silly. Everybody makes mistakes, especially companies that may have bec

I do not know Uber's plan, but assuming they're too smart to do something dumb is pretty silly. Everybody makes mistakes, especially companies that may have become arrogant after years of getting their way with little effort. And besides that, Tesla does have a permit, so that argument quickly becomes very messy and I don't see how it could rule in favor of Uber. If every driver needs the permit (as opposed to every corporation) , that applies to Uber as well. They'd effectively be making the legislation more onerous against themselves.

Fricken 10y ago
Uber has gotten it's way with a great deal of effort, and a world class legal team who are veterans by now at pushing around regulators. My theory may be incorrect, but I assure you, they've calculated their outs. Tesla the company has a permit, individual Tesla users do not. If Uber had to get a $150 testing permit, well big deal. If every Tesla driver had to get a permit, that would be a meltdown for Tesla and Tesla owners.
- abduhl 10y ago
  I don't think this is true. The average Tesla costs what, $75000? $150 is 0.2% of the purchase price. People buying Teslas aren't people who are bothered by a $150 bar tab, let alone a $150 permit. In addition, many of them have emotional buy-in at this point (aka they have drank the Elon Kool-Aid) and driving a Tesla is as much a part of their identity as anything else. They won't be bothered by paying for a permit or having to go to the DMV to get one.
  - guan 10y ago
    I believe Tesla charges at least $3,000 extra for self-driving Autopilot package. If it comes to it, they might be willing to just reimburse California residents the $150.
- user5994461 10y ago
  I don't know how it works in the USA but I would expect people to register their cars and show a driving license while doing so.
dzhiurgis 10y ago
I think the argument they are trying to make is that every Tesla owner should get a permit.

Fricken 10y ago

Uber has gotten it's way with a great deal of effort, and a world class legal team who are veterans by now at pushing around regulators. My theory may be incorrect, but I assure you, they've calculated their outs. Tesla the company has a permit, individual Tesla users do not. If Uber had to get a $150 testing permit, well big deal. If every Tesla driver had to get a permit, that would be a meltdown for Tesla and Tesla owners.

abduhl 10y ago
I don't think this is true. The average Tesla costs what, $75000? $150 is 0.2% of the purchase price. People buying Teslas aren't people who are bothered by a $150 bar tab, let alone a $150 permit. In addition, many of them have emotional buy-in at this point (aka they have drank the Elon Kool-Aid) and driving a Tesla is as much a part of their identity as anything else. They won't be bothered by paying for a permit or having to go to the DMV to get one.
- guan 10y ago
  I believe Tesla charges at least $3,000 extra for self-driving Autopilot package. If it comes to it, they might be willing to just reimburse California residents the $150.
user5994461 10y ago
I don't know how it works in the USA but I would expect people to register their cars and show a driving license while doing so.

dzhiurgis 10y ago

I think the argument they are trying to make is that every Tesla owner should get a permit.