Of the various promises Elon Musk made while discussing Tesla's (TSLA) second "Master Plan," none raised more eyebrows than his plans to create ride-sharing services that rely on self-driving Tesla cars loaned out by their owners during times when their cars aren't needed. It's not the kind of thing that consumers can expect to see anytime soon, but if and when they become available, such services could prove to be a big headache for ride-sharing leaders Uber and Lyft.
Musk claimed that when fully self-driving cars become a reality, users will be able to add their cars to a Tesla shared fleet by "tapping a button on the Tesla phone app and have it generate income for you while you're at work or on vacation, significantly offsetting and at times potentially exceeding the monthly loan or lease cost."
He added that such services effectively lower the cost of owning a Tesla to the point where "almost anyone" can afford one, and that Tesla will run its own car fleet in markets where the demand for such ride-shares exceeds supply.
As usual, some of Musk's claims warrant scrutiny. For example, he asserts the average car is only used for 5% to 10% of the day, and suggests it could be loaned out the rest of the time if it was autonomous. This estimate leaves out the many times during which a user will want a car to be instantly available, however, even if he or she isn't certain it will be driven. And Musk doesn't note the depreciation costs that come with the extra miles that will be racked up as a car is loaned out.
