Tesla is planning to unveil its own Uber-style ride sharing program and is expected to announce more details on the project later some time next year. The Tesla Network will be comprised of new vehicles that will have the needed hardware to enable them with full autonomy, but they aren't ready yet. Some think that Tesla won't be able to compete with the already well-known Uber and Lyft, but we'll have to wait and see which option the consumers decide to go with in the market.
Tesla is responsible for arguably the world's most popular electric cars and it will be no surprise if many people rush toward supporting this venture. Common criticisms raised with Uber and Lyft over worries about drivers and dangers they might pose, could be eliminated with the option of having a driver-less cars. And despite the popularity for ride-sharing services like Uber and others, they've been involved in a variety of ongoing battles in a number of different countries and cities around the world.
It will be interesting then to see how Tesla weathers the same approach to establishing its own ride-sharing business. Uber has grown so much over the last several years that in 2015 it's reported revenue was $1.5 billion. Lyft is in second place as the most popular ride-sharing company in the U.S. and they're revenue for 2015 was reported to be $800 million.
Tesla also announced that their Model X and Model S electric vehicles would have autonomous driving capability, but those vehicles weren't going to be allowed to be used with any other ride-sharing network. Those who want to use their Tesla vehicles in order to earn money will only be allowed to use it by going through the Tesla Network.
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American Energy News
Sources:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/consumer/fl-tesla-economic-impact-20160122-story.html
http://www.newsweek.com/tesla-model-3-already-worlds-most-popular-electric-car-443580
http://www.autoblog.com/2016/10/20/teslas-new-self-driving-car-sharing-rules-are-limited-to-the-te/
http://ca.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idCAKCN12K2IA?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0
http://www.businessinsider.com/report-uber-15-billion-revenue-in-2015-2016-1
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-18/leaked-lyft-financials-show-the-struggles-of-being-no-2-behind-uber