Tesla Declares War on Uber in New York
This page is translated from the original post "Tesla déclare la guerre à Uber à New York" in French.
- 19/01/2024 14:39
Tesla aims to combat the monopolization of Supercharger stations by Uber drivers in New York City. An outrage?
It’s a classic catch-22. After selling thousands of Model Y units to Uber, Tesla now laments the excessive number of drivers monopolizing quick charging stations in NYC. Yet they still need to charge their vehicles…
The story begins in 2023 when the City of “The Big Apple” issued 10,000 operating permits for electric vehicles to Uber and its competitor Lyft in an effort to decarbonize the streets. These ride-hailing companies widely chose to purchase Teslas to meet the enthusiasm of their clientele.
These 10,000 vehicles added to an already extensive fleet of private cars. Now, there is saturation at Tesla’s Superchargers, with customers increasingly expressing their annoyance on social media towards the Californian manufacturer. Its response has been to more harshly penalize vehicles that occupy charging stations beyond 90% battery level.
Tesla reportedly realized that Uber drivers would “sleep” at the chargers between rides, causing traffic jams in the parking lots. Now, a “congestion tax” is set at $1 per minute of occupation at a station beyond the 90% charge threshold.
The next step may involve Uber and other ride-hailing services developing their own charging networks to free up Superchargers for private individuals only.
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