http://www.afr.com/technology/your-next-uber-driver-could-be-driving-a-tesla-20160107-gm13jp Your next Uber driver could be driving a Tesla Jan 8 2016 Misa Han
[image http://www.afr.com/content/dam/images/g/m/1/s/3/1/image.related.afrArticleLead.620x350.gm13jp.png/1452232504842.jpg Jack Bailey, a Splend Uber driver, has been careful in choosing passengers for the $210,000 Tesla S 90D. / Dominic Lorrimer ] The next time you order an Uber in Sydney, don't be surprised if you get picked up in a $200,000 Tesla. But you would need a good Uber passenger rating if you want to maximise your chance of getting picked up, says the Tesla-wielding Uber driver. Splend, a car hire company for UberX drivers, has bought a Tesla as a "reward vehicle" for its best Uber drivers. Jack Bailey, a 25-year-old Splend Uber driver, has picked up about 10 passengers in the $210,000 Tesla S 90D since New Year's Eve in Sydney and he will be driving the car for a couple more weeks before handing it over to the next Splend driver. Bailey said since he's been driving the Tesla he has been careful with choosing his passengers. He would only pick up passengers with 4.8 or 4.9 out of five star ratings for the fear they would damage the car. "For my normal car [Hyandai i40] I would pick up anyone, but with the Tesla I've been selective," Bailey said. "It's such a nice car, and with the passengers in the car there's extra pressure". He would also screen five star-rated passengers because perfect ratings usually mean the customer is new and yet to fully prove their passenger credentials. But if you're about to start crafting your Uber rating in order to score a ride in a Tesla, do so knowing there won't be any "Ludicrous" mode. Bailey said he's had to turn down a passenger's request to accelerate from 0 to 100 km per hour in 2.8 seconds on safety grounds, though he admits he's experimented with it on his own. Splend chief executive Chris King said he chose to buy Tesla because he is a big fan of the car's technological, safety and environmental features. "It's at the pinnacle of the industry, it's the most technologically advanced and it's a highly desirable vehicle," King said. "It's the safest vehicle on the road. It can't roll because of the batteries, it's emissions-free, it requires no fuel at all and it's very environmentally friendly, it's got automated driving technology which makes it a very, very safe car. That's the way of the future, more electric cars." Splend ranks its drivers on how safely they drive based on speed, acceleration, breaking and cornering. Splend will put three Tesla S 85s on the road in February, one each in Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane, at a cost of $155,000 each. Splend joins Tesla's growing customer base in Australia, which include entrepreneurs Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes and Internode co-founder Simon Hackett. The price of a Tesla in Australia ranges from $125,000 to $280,000. Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has said the technology to make a fully autonomous car will be ready by 2020, which could potentially threaten Uber's business model. Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick has reportedly said if Tesla can produce half a million cars by 2020 he will buy all of them for Uber. Despite supplying cars exclusively to Uber drivers, Splend's King said he was not threatened by the impact Tesla's self-driving technology may have on Uber. "They're obviously so far off," King said. [© 2016 Fairfax Media Publications] For EVLN EV-newswire posts use: http://evdl.org/evln/ {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-Your-next-Sydney-au-Uber-driver-could-be-driving-a-AUD200k-Tesla-tp4679691.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
