Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Tesla Bans Customers From Using Autonomous Cars To Earn Money Ride-Sharing (arstechnica.com)

Posted by msmash on from the way-ahead-of-you dept.

Late Wednesday, Tesla announced the Model X and Model S electric vehicles, boasting that they will come with the necessary hardware to drive completely autonomously at some point in the future. Naturally, one of the frequent questions that followed the event was: "Can I use my Tesla car as a Uber driver?" Well, Tesla was anticipating this question and even buried the answer on its website. From an ArsTechnica report: On Tesla's website, the section that describes the new "Full Self-Driving Capability" (A $3,000 option at the time of purchase, $4,000 after the fact) states "Please note also that using a self-driving Tesla for car sharing and ride hailing for friends and family is fine, but doing so for revenue purposes will only be permissible on the Tesla Network, details of which will be released next year."

12 of 305 comments (clear)

  1. Sorry - whose car is this? by mccalli · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If it's good enough to drive at all, it's good enough to be put to use for the purpose I bought it. That purpose might well be a revenue-earning ride sharing thing. Sounds like they're looking for a rent cut from your own purchased car.

    1. Re:Sorry - whose car is this? by avandesande · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Or maybe, just maybe don't want to be liable for problems when a customer is using it for profit?

      --
      love is just extroverted narcissism
    2. Re:Sorry - whose car is this? by mysidia · · Score: 4, Insightful

      This is likely to result in Antitrust actions against Tesla, for the same reason that Ford can't run their own gas station chain and ban you from using fuel supplied by other brands. You don't have to be a monopoly for it to be illegal for you to attempt to restrict a manufactured good to your particular service, when there are otherwise competing options.

    3. Re:Sorry - whose car is this? by Jason1729 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      If you don't own a license to do whatever you want to do with the car for the lifetime of the car, you'd have to be a complete idiot to buy said car.

      Up until 5 minutes ago, I was a Tesla fan. Now I'm saying anyone who buys a Tesla is a complete idiot. What a great move this is for them.

    4. Re:Sorry - whose car is this? by shaitand · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Being a big business doesn't make it something most people can relate to. A judge and jury aren't likely to relate well to some issue with some tractor, the idea someone sold a car and then subsequently vandalized it and rendered it inoperable because they didn't like how the buyer used it... that they can understand. They likely own zero tractors and two cars a piece.

    5. Re:Sorry - whose car is this? by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You may own the car, but you do not own the software that operates it. The right to use that software is granted to you under certain conditions, of which this apparently is one. It can be revoked at any time, effectively rendering the car useless.

      You may own the car, but you do not own the software that operates it. The right to use that software is granted to you under certain conditions, of which this apparently is one. It can be revoked at any time, effectively rendering the car useless.

      Whose car is it? And you will reply something. And I will again ask whose car is it? Repeat until it js my car.

      --
      (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
  2. Your car is not your car by RumGunner · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Give us a lot of money, and you get no ownership of anything. Welcome to the World of Tomorrow!

  3. So much for Tesla's antitrust dealer argument by JoeyRox · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I supported Tesla's position on disintermediating the US car dealer structure so that Tesla can be allowed to sell cars directly to consumers. I didn't realize they would try abusing antitrust regs elsewhere for their own benefit. Companies are against anti-trust behavior except their own.

  4. EULA's and auto driver cars will face some hard co by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    EULA's and auto driver cars will face some hard court cases. Even more so if they try to pull NDA shit in an criminal case (say in the case of an very bad auto accident) Now it would be cool for some CEO to face the some like the judge in My Cousin Vinny when they try use NDA's and EULA's to get out of discovery of the log's and source code of the auto drive software.

    And let's say it's some small town where an auto driver car or truck BSOD's and took out a school bus full of kids. Where the local prosecutor is willing to push very hard in the case.

  5. Re:Great way to kill the competition by making it. by houstonbofh · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ... if the clause was presented in such as way as to be considered part of a binding contract agreed to when I purchased the car, ...

    Apparently you are not "purchasing" the car but licensing it. And this is happening more and more, like the sealed boxes in tractors preventing third party repairs. And it is a deal breaker for me.

  6. unlimited lease agreement so under landlord rules by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 3, Insightful

    unlimited lease agreement so under landlord rules they are on the hook for all repair and insurance?

  7. Re: Great way to kill the competition by making it by sootman · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Customer -> Uber -> Driver -> Tesla -> Self-driving Software -> local, state, national laws about self-driving cars -> local, state, national laws about ride sharing -> Insurance companies... figuring out who to sue and who pays in case of an accident would be like legal Inception.

    --
    Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.