Connect with us

News

AAA launches car-sharing service starting with 250 Prius in Berkeley, CA

Published

on

AAA is extending its services into the car-sharing market as a hedge to its core business, roadside assistance for owners. The company’s innovation lab is launching a car-sharing company called ‘Gig’ to provide drivers with easy access to vehicles in Berkeley and Oakland, Calif. Unlike other car-sharing companies, Gig isn’t affiliated with any manufacturer, but will be launching exclusively with a fleet of Toyota Prius Cs.

All of Gig’s 250 Prius Cs are equipped with bike racks and are set to be deployed on April 30th in Oakland. Customers can download the Gig app to setup their profile and register for the service, by uploading a photo of their driver license and including payment information.

DID YOU KNOW? Uber had the chance to do the right thing with tipping but if failed

AAA’s innovation lab, called A3 Ventures, is based out of Oakland, CA and helps the company discover new business models, products, and services. While A3 Ventures is just launching Gig in Oakland and the Berkeley area right now, the organization plans to extend the car-sharing service into more regions. “It’s extending AAA’s core focus of enabling mobility,” said Mike Hetke, EVP and chief innovation officer at AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah.

Employees ready the new AAA Gig Car Share fleet of Toyota Prius c hybrids at their lot in West Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, April 13, 2017. The 250-car fleet serving Oakland and Berkeley will launch on April 30. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

According to a study by The University of California – Berkeley, car-sharing programs like Gig can remove roughly 10 cars off the road for each car they deploy. As Oakland, CA continues to be bogged down with traffic; the area residents will almost certainly support the new program. While rented cars aren’t limited to driving only thing Oakland, they do have to be returned within the “HomeZone” which is set to cover most of Oakland and Berkeley.

Gig Pricing and Features

Gig vehicles will include gas, insurance, parking, and 24/7 support starting on April 30th. Pricing starts at $15/hr, $85/day, or $2.50/mile whichever is cheaper. The company’s software will dynamically shift between pricing models in order to provide the lowest cost for the consumer. Gig’s pricing seems to be more complex than other car-sharing programs, but in the end, the unique model may save the customer more money on faster or shorter trips. GM’s car-sharing company Maven includes the same features and starts at $8/hr, but usual reservations require a 1.5 or 2-hour minimum.  AAA members will get a 10% discount on the program. New registrants can get $85 in driving credits with the code, “HEYGIG” until April 30th.

This post was originally published on NextMobility

Advertisement
-

Christian Prenzler is currently the VP of Business Development at Teslarati, leading strategic partnerships, content development, email newsletters, and subscription programs. Additionally, Christian thoroughly enjoys investigating pivotal moments in the emerging mobility sector and sharing these stories with Teslarati's readers. He has been closely following and writing on Tesla and disruptive technology for over seven years. You can contact Christian here: christian@teslarati.com

Advertisement
Comments

News

Elon Musk hints at Tesla Cybercab’s next market

Published

on

(Credit: Teslarati)

After launching in Austin, Texas, last week, Tesla is looking to expand the Cybercab to new parts of the United States in an effort that will see the driverless, steering wheel-less, and pedal-less vehicle chauffeur people around as part of the Robotaxi ride-hailing service.

However, the expansion will go far beyond the United States, and CEO Elon Musk revealed he hopes Europe will be the next market where Cybercab will be operational.

Musk has publicly expressed hope that Tesla’s Cybercab robotaxi will reach Europe in the near future.

On September 8, Tesla’s Chief Executive quoted a German rider who had just completed a trip in Austin, Texas, and wrote that he hoped the vehicle would not take years to arrive in Germany. Musk replied with a short but notable message: “Hopefully soon in Europe too.”

Advertisement
-

The comment arrived only days after Tesla opened Cybercab ride-hailing to the public in Austin. The two-seat vehicle has no steering wheel or pedals and relies entirely on Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software. Early passengers have described the rides as quiet, smooth, and more stylish than competing robotaxis such as Waymo.

Austin is currently the only city where members of the public can hail a Cybercab through Tesla’s Robotaxi app. The initial fleet is small; Texas registration records show only a few dozen of the purpose-built vehicles on the road.

Tesla set to open Cybercab rides to the public, with no steering wheel or pedals

Tesla has also been operating a larger number of conventional Model Y robotaxis in the same area, but the Cybercab itself represents the company’s first dedicated, controls-free taxi design.

Europe presents a different regulatory picture. The European Union does not permit manufacturers to self-certify vehicles the way Tesla did in the United States.

Type-approval rules and a small-series limit of 1,500 automated vehicles per type per year apply across the bloc.

Advertisement
-

Supervised Full Self-Driving has gained provisional approval in several member states through national recognition of Dutch certification, yet unsupervised robotaxi operation remains a separate and more distant step. Tesla has not announced a European launch city, date, or approval pathway for the Cybercab.

Musk himself has previously cautioned that the company does not control European regulators. In an earnings call earlier in 2026, he noted that even supervised FSD took an “immense amount of time” to clear and that unsupervised service would be “somewhat at the mercy of the governments in Europe and the EU.”

The latest social-media remark therefore functions more as an expression of intent than a timetable.

If the Cybercab eventually reaches European streets, it would mark a significant expansion of Tesla’s robotaxi ambitions beyond the United States. For now, the vehicle remains an Austin-only experience, and the gap between Musk’s hope and actual deployment will be decided by regulators rather than by engineering alone.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla Cybercab improvements are already on the minds of company engineers

Published

on

Credit: Tesla Europe & Middle East | X

Tesla Cybercab might have just rolled out to the public as it entered the company’s Robotaxi suite in Austin this past week. However, the vehicle might already be on its way to becoming even better, as the company is asking riders to describe what they’d like to see improved with the Cybercab.

Tesla sent a rider experience survey to Cybercab passengers only days after paid rides began in Austin. The questionnaire asks how satisfied riders were with the overall trip. Then it requests star ratings for availability and wait time, door functionality, vehicle touchscreen, mobile app experience, seat comfort, interior space, ride comfort, cleanliness, and cargo space.

A later section asks which features riders would most like to have and allows selection of up to three items from a list that includes heated seats, ventilated seats, fully reclining seats, a tray table, a wireless phone charger, a better sound system, and more storage. Respondents may also choose none of these or write in another idea. The survey closes with a recommendation score from zero to ten.

This rapid request for input illustrates Tesla’s habit of treating early users as collaborators rather than mere customers. The company has long refined vehicles through software updates and hardware changes informed by real-world use across its passenger cars.

Advertisement
-

Collecting structured opinions so soon after commercial service started shows the same mindset applied to a purpose-built autonomous taxi. The questions themselves reveal an openness to cabin changes even after the first vehicles reached public streets, which is no surprise.

Tesla has always hoped to cater a great experience to anyone in its vehicles, which is why so many fan-requested features have made it into its vehicles.

Replies already circulating online favor reclining seats, tray tables, wireless charging, improved audio, and extra room when seats fold back.

Tesla Cybercabs narrowly miss deadly Amazon cargo plane crash

Those preferences point toward comfort upgrades that Tesla can implement in later production batches or through cabin revisions. Because the Cybercab is designed around software first principles, many requested amenities can arrive faster than in traditional automakers.

Tesla’s willingness to survey riders immediately after launch therefore makes near-term cabin and experience improvements likely as the team reviews responses and iterates toward a more refined robotaxi people will choose daily.

Advertisement
-
Continue Reading

Cybertruck

Tesla Cybertruck engineer reveals new changes in ‘constantly evolving’ pickup

Published

on

Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer | YouTube

Tesla Cybertruck Lead Engineer Wes Morrill revealed the company has made several changes to the all-electric pickup, which he calls a “living thing, constantly evolving and improving.”

Cybertruck is manufactured at Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas just outside of Austin, and over the past few years, Tesla has continued to make small changes to the pickup to improve everything from cost, reliability, serviceablility, and manufacturability.

“The finish line isn’t getting to production. A product is a living thing, constantly evolving and improving,” Morrill added.

RELATED:

Tesla Cybertruck AWD is a steal at $60k, is it still at $75k? Full Review

Some of those changes are yet to be revealed, but perhaps the most notable one was the change Tesla made to the aero shield that sits underneath the truck. In the past, it was aluminum, but now the Cybertruck is using a self-reinforcing polypropylene.

Advertisement
-

Morrill said that the polypropylene is “stretched into fibers and then laminated into the form,” and is much more durable, much lighter, and significantly cheaper than aluminum when it is manufactured this way.

It also enabled some improvements in the geometry of the Cybertruck, improving the manufacturing around the bolts and edges, in addition to minor form changes. These all benefitted the Cybertruck in more ways than one: specifically with durability and improved drag.

Typically, Teslas are not necessarily identified by model year because these changes are fluid and occur when the company sees fit to implement them. It is not like other automotive companies, which usually make sweeping manufacturing changes when building a new model year.

Advertisement
-

Instead, Teslas are recognized by their “generation” or “era.” For example, those with a newer Model Y might refer to their car as a “Juniper.” This is the same with Model 3, as many refer to the new body style as the “Highland.”

Tesla’s manufacturing changes are proof of the company’s constant need to improve its products and move things forward with its vehicles. There is no need to drag one’s feet and wait until next year if the product can be made better right now, and that’s precisely what Tesla did with the Cybertruck.

Continue Reading