Tesla Motors will prohibit the use of its new self-driving cars by ride-sharing services — except for the company's own.
The electric vehicle manufacturer this week announced that every new vehicle produced in its California factory as of Tuesday can be equipped features that will enable fully autonomous driving once cleared by regulators.
Ride-sharing apps Lyft and Uber are invested in autonomous driving in the hope that they could eventually deploy a fleet of self-driving taxis — and cut out the costs associated with paying drivers on their apps.
ArsTechnica, however, notes that the language in Tesla’s announcement seeks to ban the use of self-driving Teslas for ride-sharing. Instead, using them "for revenue purposes will only be permissible on the Tesla Network."
Tesla CEO Elon Musk disclosed plans for a "shared Tesla fleet" as part of his "Master Plan, Part Deux" this summer.
Drivers using a Tesla mobile app, Musk wrote, would be able to make their cars "generate income for you while you're at work or on vacation."
Further details of the Tesla Network will be released next year, according to details announced by the company this week. It's unclear how Tesla would enforce the ban on other ride-sharing apps.
The company also noted that "using a self-driving Tesla for car sharing and ride hailing for friends and family is fine."
