Purchasing/renting an electric vehicle for rideshare

I have often considered one for it, here is my take on the practicality of it.

Tesla is the only brand worth considering for it, for one big reason: Supercharging. EV's all have limited range before a charge, but a Tesla can get you another 150-250 miles of driving (depending on model and driving conditions) in less than an hour. If it isn't a Tesla, you will be limited to about 75% of your max range per day, period.

Now, the least expensive Tesla will be an older Model S (2012 or 2013) with some miles on it, which I would not be too concerned about the miles on a Tesla until it approaches 300k, and will run you $20k on a smoking good private party deal or more like $25-30k. It is worth noting that most of the 2012-2013 era Model S available have a 200 mile range, so plan on charging it every 150 or so. It may also be a little too old to qualify for the higher levels of driving fares, which could be a big advantage since you get the running cost of a Prius in a luxury class vehi…

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I have often considered one for it, here is my take on the practicality of it.

Tesla is the only brand worth considering for it, for one big reason: Supercharging. EV's all have limited range before a charge, but a Tesla can get you another 150-250 miles of driving (depending on model and driving conditions) in less than an hour. If it isn't a Tesla, you will be limited to about 75% of your max range per day, period.

Now, the least expensive Tesla will be an older Model S (2012 or 2013) with some miles on it, which I would not be too concerned about the miles on a Tesla until it approaches 300k, and will run you $20k on a smoking good private party deal or more like $25-30k. It is worth noting that most of the 2012-2013 era Model S available have a 200 mile range, so plan on charging it every 150 or so. It may also be a little too old to qualify for the higher levels of driving fares, which could be a big advantage since you get the running cost of a Prius in a luxury class vehicle.

Your next option is a Model S that is still higher mileage and new enough to qualify for the higher level fares. The Model S in a 2016 or newer model year will qualify you for Lux Black (highest for sedans) on Lyft, the 2014 will qualify you for Lux rides. Getting one that is 2016 or newer will cost you $40k+ even on a good deal.

Then there is the Model 3 which still sell for $30-35K+ in any model year, and will qualify for the Lux Rides but are not nice enough for Lux Black, no matter the year. Even the base model of these can get 180 to 220 usable miles per charge, but again are likely $10k more than the least expensive Tesla option.

So it really boils down to what you want your initial cost on the car to be. Any Tesla will be an amazing car, and allow you as close to the flexibility of a gas car as an EV can get (thanks to their supercharging network). If $20k is too high of a floor you are left with the status quo two best options for low cost of ownership: a used Prius if you don't want to try and capitalize on the XL market for the 50ish mpgs, or a used Minivan of reputable make to get those XL rides while keeping a 25-30 mpg mileage potential. Both of these options will run you $10-15K for a solid ride, some gen 2 Prius will be closer to 7 or 8k for a good one, but make sure it has leather, the Gen 2 Prius cloth is very thin and wears out super easy with lots of use.

That is my honest take on EVs for rideshare. The only other point about the Tesla, is if you can secure one with Full Self Driving, there is the potential for a passive income stream on the Tesla Network when that comes as Elon is betting on. I will leave you to prognosticate on your thoughts on that, because that is a tough debate on both sides with the current state of Self Driving Vehicles, especially Tesla's vision system.

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