From ridesharing to renting Teslas to autonomous robotaxis, Tesloop CEO Rahul Sonnad lays out automotive industry and mobility transportation changes with Gali on HyperChange.
What’s Tesloop?
Starting in 2015, Tesloop initially offered city-to-city ridesharing in Tesla vehicles, from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and back. Ubermobiles, sort of. Tech and regulations changed, so they’ve tweaked their business model, still anticipating robotaxis and autonomous driving in the next 5 years.
But now, instead of using their Tesla fleet as Ubermobiles, they rent them. Sounds like JAATesla-Phase 1, right?
Whaddup HyperChange?
If you aren’t familiar with Gali and his YouTube channel HyperChange, check him out.
A fresh, independent thinker with a high-speed NYC delivery style, Gali’s not afraid to dig deep and ponder aloud… or in the case of Tesla, put his money where his mouth is.
“The first question I ask when analyzing a new business or product, is: Does this make the world better? Where we put our capital matters. Invest in the future you believe in.”
Galileo Russell, Founder of HyperChange
Gali’s attitude is our attitude, and it’s what caught our attention when he first launched his channel a few years ago. Watching the world take notice–including Elon and not just the Millennials he targets–has been fun to watch.
Tesloop Experience Talks
Watch the video:
Tesla Operating Cost Comparison
Here are key points from Gali’s HyperChange interview with the CEO/Co-Founder of Tesloop, Rahul Sonnad.
- Extremely low Tesla total maintenance cost:
- $.05/mile vs. about $.60/mile driven for an ICE car, e.g., Camry
- The more you drive a Tesla (500K vs. 200K for an ICE car), the lower the cost. Why?
- Motor and drivetrain longevity ($.10 vs. $.25)
- Fuel, (regional variance, but electricity about 50% less than fuel)
- Insurance costs should come down
- Maintenance is “radically cheaper” (cost and downtime), particularly on older/high mileage vehicles
- Working toward the Million Mile battery
- High mileage maximizes utilization (it’ll last a long time, it’ll start to feel ‘old’ long before acts ‘old’)
- Batteries hold up well, even with rough treatment
- Fleets: cost and admin capability to monitor 24X7
- Once FSD, current driver management issues disappear (people problems, DUIs, etc. no longer matter)
The Role of FSD
Rahul thinks about the road to Full Self Driving (FSD) autonomy in terms of the cars mastering a range of behaviors until they’re truly autonomous and FSD.
He distinguishes between customers’ city and long distance autonomous driving needs.
“If you want to make money on a Tesla robotaxi… the economics and the consumer demand is much higher on long distance. “
Rahul Sonnad, CEO-Co-Founder of Tesloop
Tesloop’s found customers choose a Tesla ride over an ICE car option as distance to destination increases. It makes sense. Luxury matters more on a 5 hour trip than a 5 minute one, where renters and riders factor:
- Car comfort
- Safety
- Tesla’s autopilot driving feature, which greatly reduces the stress of driving
- But the bottom line: Cost
Like all good business models, Tesloop considers the customer’s options between two given points, including the cost and time each takes to use: Drive a car? Rideshare? Plane? Train? Bus? The Tesla advantage becomes even more pronounced once CyberTrucks are available.
Rahul sees the future of the automotive industry converging into 2 or 3 hardware/software platform providers, with Tesla being one of them. Tesla will continue verticals such as long distance trucking, new networks (e.g., freight).
The disruption and replacement of the current transportation systems by EVs is inevitable.
Tesloop’s Future
Rahul sees Tesloop running long distance mobility operations that resemble a regional airline and smooth a customer’s travel experience. The current constraint of ‘nodes’ (pre-defined start and end points where their customers pick up/drop off their cars and define their routes) in their system is charging.
The demand for destination charging, SuperCharging, and parking will only increase as individuals and new businesses deliver new transportation options to the public. This is A Gig Business No One Has Ever Heard About. Much. Yet.
Tesloop started by buying cars and running them. They now onboard new vehicles owned by others as investment vehicles. Essentially, a JAATesla portfolio vehicle, owned by a single individual who can finance or afford to purchase the Tesla.
Tesloop has more experience than anyone in this emerging market. Once you wrap your ahead around the numbers and let the Tesla driving experience sink in, the new business ideas will just keep coming to you, too.