4 ms·

I'd just like to point out that Tesla as you're speaking of it is a car manufacturer, whereas Voyage is a car service. Tesla is apparently planning to launch t

by alehul 9y ago

I'd just like to point out that Tesla as you're speaking of it is a car manufacturer, whereas Voyage is a car service. Tesla is apparently planning to launch their own car service, which from an economic standpoint may be poised to win. It will involve Tesla owners being able to add their car to a public fleet and essentially have their car make money for them. It's plausible the Tesla model will win out because, in the majority of hours, only about 20% of the fleet is used in a car service. RideAustin, as a nonprofit, has publicly available ride data to support this. So with a dedicated fleet, you'll often have a lot of unused cars that will be quite inefficient. With the Tesla model, however, the money-making portion is a secondary purpose for the car's ownership, with the primary one being the owner's own convenience when needed. Hope this is explained accurately!

pfisch 9y ago
If you can afford a Tesla why would you let your car be used like this? I am the kind of person who would get a tesla and I would never want to deal with the inconvenience of lending my car to a public fleet so it could get fucked up by drunk people. Also how does the car know if someone throws up in it before picking up another passenger?
- dragonwriter 9y ago
  > Also how does the car know if someone throws up in it before picking up another passenger? Camera + microphone + vomit recognition software.
- madengr 9y ago
  Don’t know why you were downvoted. I fully agree. Last thing I want is my car interior abused like public transportation. Litter, scrap food, lice, body fluids. No thanks.
- itsgrimetime 9y ago
  What if it made you an extra $6000 per month? Even $3000? Obviously the market would adjust from current taxi rates, but this is based off of the following rough estimate: 20 hours per day of you not driving * 30 days * 11$ avg taxi take-home per hour[1] = $6600 [1]: https://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/taxi-driver-and-chauffeur/salary https://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/taxi-driver-and-c...
  - ant6n 9y ago
    I think the calculus is more that people won't own their own cars, because it will cost 10k/year to own, but 2k/year to buy trips.
  - dx034 9y ago
    Most car owners today could save money by owning a different car, reducing the cars in the household or using more public transport. Owning a car is (for most) not just a necessity, it's an expression of freedom. Being reliant on a car sharing app is not ideal for everyone, esp. families.
  - pfisch 9y ago
    How much does the car cost? Also I don't think it would last very long driving around 20 hours/day every day. It would be like airbnbing my apartment. Huge pain in the ass all the time with maintenance and dealing with other related issues.
- bloat 9y ago
  The car arrives, the passenger opens the door, turns away in disgust, loads the ride hailing app and presses the "report vomit" button. The car drives itself to the cleaning service, another car turns up shortly.
  - dx034 9y ago
    In the end, how long did you wait for a car? I'm a strong believer in self driving cars but don't think car ownership will decline meaningfully. Having your own self-driving car still brings you home when you're drunk but without waiting in the cold (or surge pricing if the bar just closed).
dragonwriter 9y ago
> It's plausible the Tesla model will win out because, in the majority of hours, only about 20% of the fleet is used in a car service. RideAustin, as a nonprofit, has publicly available ride data to support this. So with a dedicated fleet, you'll often have a lot of unused cars that will be quite inefficient. With the Tesla model, however, the money-making portion is a secondary purpose for the car's ownership, with the primary one being the owner's own convenience when needed. Problem: Peak demand for car service customers and peak usage for owners is likely to be at the same or overlapping times.
- chrisco255 9y ago
  Sure, there's always going to be that. But for people that work different shifts than the normal 9-5, it could be a boon for them. It wouldn't have to be a majority to have a huge impact on transportation and people's livelihood.

by alehul 9y ago

pfisch 9y ago

If you can afford a Tesla why would you let your car be used like this? I am the kind of person who would get a tesla and I would never want to deal with the inconvenience of lending my car to a public fleet so it could get fucked up by drunk people. Also how does the car know if someone throws up in it before picking up another passenger?

dragonwriter 9y ago
> Also how does the car know if someone throws up in it before picking up another passenger? Camera + microphone + vomit recognition software.
madengr 9y ago
Don’t know why you were downvoted. I fully agree. Last thing I want is my car interior abused like public transportation. Litter, scrap food, lice, body fluids. No thanks.
itsgrimetime 9y ago
What if it made you an extra $6000 per month? Even $3000? Obviously the market would adjust from current taxi rates, but this is based off of the following rough estimate: 20 hours per day of you not driving * 30 days * 11$ avg taxi take-home per hour[1] = $6600 [1]: https://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/taxi-driver-and-chauffeur/salary https://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/taxi-driver-and-c...
- ant6n 9y ago
  I think the calculus is more that people won't own their own cars, because it will cost 10k/year to own, but 2k/year to buy trips.
- dx034 9y ago
  Most car owners today could save money by owning a different car, reducing the cars in the household or using more public transport. Owning a car is (for most) not just a necessity, it's an expression of freedom. Being reliant on a car sharing app is not ideal for everyone, esp. families.
- pfisch 9y ago
  How much does the car cost? Also I don't think it would last very long driving around 20 hours/day every day. It would be like airbnbing my apartment. Huge pain in the ass all the time with maintenance and dealing with other related issues.
bloat 9y ago
The car arrives, the passenger opens the door, turns away in disgust, loads the ride hailing app and presses the "report vomit" button. The car drives itself to the cleaning service, another car turns up shortly.
- dx034 9y ago
  In the end, how long did you wait for a car? I'm a strong believer in self driving cars but don't think car ownership will decline meaningfully. Having your own self-driving car still brings you home when you're drunk but without waiting in the cold (or surge pricing if the bar just closed).

dragonwriter 9y ago

> It's plausible the Tesla model will win out because, in the majority of hours, only about 20% of the fleet is used in a car service. RideAustin, as a nonprofit, has publicly available ride data to support this. So with a dedicated fleet, you'll often have a lot of unused cars that will be quite inefficient. With the Tesla model, however, the money-making portion is a secondary purpose for the car's ownership, with the primary one being the owner's own convenience when needed. Problem: Peak demand for car service customers and peak usage for owners is likely to be at the same or overlapping times.

chrisco255 9y ago
Sure, there's always going to be that. But for people that work different shifts than the normal 9-5, it could be a boon for them. It wouldn't have to be a majority to have a huge impact on transportation and people's livelihood.