drivers

“Revel Announces Layoffs of 1,000 Ride-Hail Drivers, Emphasizing Preference for Contract Work”

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And it started an all-Tesla, all-employee ride-hail service, in part so its charging infrastructure would see guaranteed utilization. The move comes after Revel successfully piloted the model in late February with 100 Revel drivers and has since brought on 100 more. The question of flexibility has been at the heart of the debate over whether ride-hail drivers should be classified as gig workers or employees. That said, Rubinson says Revel’s ride-hail portion of the business recently hit gross margin positivity and was tracking to be EBITDA positive by the end of the year. In 2022, Frank Reig, Revel’s CEO, told TechCrunch that over 90% of its charging hub utilization came from Revel’s own ride-hail fleet.

Tesla Slashes FSD Price to $99/Month in US

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Tesla has slashed the price of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software subscription to $99 per month, down from $199 per month, as the electric vehicle maker aims to boost adoption of its advanced driver assistance system ahead of first-quarter earnings. The price cut comes a couple of weeks after Tesla launched a free one-month trial of FSD for every customer in the U.S. with a compatible Tesla. The FSD price cut comes the same week that Tesla released more tweaks to its latest V12 version of the software to certain users. More drivers with FSD doesn’t only mean more money for Tesla. Tesla might also be angling for more training data so it can meet CEO Elon Musk’s promise to unveil a Tesla robotaxi in August.

“Moove Secures $100M Investment from Uber and Achieves $750M Valuation for African Mobility Fintech Expansion”

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Moove, an African mobility fintech that offers vehicle financing to ride-hailing and delivery app drivers, has raised $100 million in a funding round as it plots expansion into new markets. Moove says it plans to use the new capital to expand its revenue-based vehicle financing platform to 16 markets by the end of 2025. Moove takes a two-pronged approach to vehicle financing. The vehicles provided to Moove customers vary from traditional options like Toyotas and Suzukis to electric vehicles (EVs) such as Teslas. The vehicle financing startup operates large EV fleets in the UAE and the U.K.

Uber’s Chief Executive Officer Unveils Strategies for Expanding Driver Electric Vehicle Accessibility and Combatting Emissions at SXSW

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Uber CEO outlines plans for increasing driver EV access, reducing emissions at SXSW Dara Khosrowshahi explains his priorities for Uber now that it's achieved profitabilityUber’s future will be greener, more affordable, and able to challenge Amazon at its own rapid delivery game, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi predicted while on stage this week at SXSW. To achieve that, Uber has to make it easier and cheaper for drivers to access electric vehicles. Uber said emissions are calculated based on Uber Green and Uber Comfort Electric rides, and the amount of CO2 emissions avoided compared to UberX or Uber Comfort trips of the same distance. Riders can go to their account section of the Uber app to access the “estimated CO2 saved” feature, which shows all the emissions saved by taking Uber Green and Uber Comfort electric rides. Since then Uber has partnered with autonomous sidewalk delivery startups Cartken and Serve Robotics and robotaxi companies Waymo and Motional.

Hertz’s Troubled EV Rollout: Ride-Share Drivers Bear the Brunt

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Hertz is selling its EVs because it botched the rollout for ride-share drivers It's a precautionary tale for how to assess new markets — and how not to introduce a new product. Hertz made a splash in 2021 when it announced that it would buy 100,000 Tesla Model 3 sedans in a little over a year. Hertz said in an SEC filing that it would be selling 20,000 of its EVs and replacing them with fossil fuel-powered vehicles. After Hertz started buying EVs, it directed most of them to Uber drivers. Uber drivers also rented the cars for longer periods of time, Hertz said, meaning that fewer employees were needed to support a given number of vehicles.

Geographic Navigation Powered by Google will Provide Live Battery Range Details for Electric Car Users, Beginning with Ford.

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Google announced Tuesday at CES 2024 a new feature for EV drivers that will track and display real-time battery information in Google Maps. The new Android Auto feature will rollout today on Ford Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning. Google built-in adds Chrome, Weather ChannelGoogle also added new trip planning capabilities, the Chrome browser and the Weather Channel app to Google built-in. The company said that starting today drivers of vehicles with Google built-in can send the trip they’ve planned on their smartphone using Google Maps directly to their car. Cars with Google built-in will also get, starting today, PBS KIDS and Crunchyroll and the Weather Channel app.

Volkswagen Introduces ChatGPT Integration for Cars and SUVs

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The German automaker announced Monday at CES 2024 in Las Vegas plans to add an AI-powered chatbot into all Volkswagen models equipped with its IDA voice assistant. The AI-based chatbot, which is based on software company Cerence’s Chat Pro product, will roll out in the second quarter, starting with Europe. For now, Volkswagen models in the United States won’t have the feature. The voice assistant is activated with the “Hello IDA” wake word or by pressing the button on the steering wheel. The response will come through the IDA voice assistant so drivers may not even know when ChatGPT is and is not in use.

“Exploring New Options: Uber Introduces Dynamic Pricing Experience Across 12+ Indian Urban Centers”

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Uber confirmed that the flexible pricing service has expanded. However, many InDrive drivers in the country have complained about passengers offering them too low prices for their rides. Moreover, while Uber’s flex pricing model is available for various modes, the raid-hailing giant is not applying it to all modes in one city. TechCrunch learned that the company was also looking to test the new service model soon in metro cities in India, including Delhi and Mumbai. In addition to Uber Flex, the San Francisco-headquartered company is testing different services in India to cater to the local demand.

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