Model S/X as a taxi or fleet vehicle

[WeazL]

We are adding a Model S to our limousine service here in Honolulu. It will be the first of it's kind for Honolulu/Waikiki and is the only commercially available S for hire on the island. One company on Maui has one as well.

We've seen an increase in the amount of requests for eco-friendly luxury sedans over the years--it doesn't get more eco-friendly than a Tesla S!

 

[Clprenz]

Does anyone have a quote for the insurance of a chauffeur Tesla? We are exploring options and it would be great to have a number in the ballpark to create estimates with.

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Does anyone have a quote for the insurance of a chauffeur Tesla? We are exploring options and it would be great to have a number in the ballpark to create estimates with.

 

[fredag]

Here’s a Model S Taxi in Oslo, Norway. The first in Norway according to the article:

Here's another Norwegian Model S taxi, this time in Bergen:

Full article:

http://www.ba.no/motormagasinet/article7036667.ece

But these are still rare exceptions. A recent report by the environmental organization Bellona for the Norwegian Public Roads Administration and Oslo Taxi is aiming to change this, and make electric taxis the rule in Oslo, and not the exception:

http://www.elbil.no/miljo/1173-alle-taxier-elektriske-i-2020

 

[Modulor]

First Model S taxi in germany (Munich - Tesla headquarter in germany):

http://tesladrivers.blogspot.de/2013/12/news-erstes-model-s-als-taxi-in.html

 

[doug]

Tesla Motors Europe on Twitter:

Starting today, 167 Tesla Model S taxis will offer rides from @Schiphol Amsterdam Airport.

Tesla Motors Europe on Twitter:
Parade of Tesla taxis drove around @Schiphol Amsterdam Airport to celebrate the inauguration of the 167 Tesla taxis.

 

[mrdoubleb]

This is such a geniously-sneaky advertisement for Tesla, it's brilliant! Imagine all those travellers, business folks included, taking a taxi from the airport. Obviously the car is going to start a discussion between the person and the driver - even those who do not care about cars and don't really know about Tesla will be wondering about the door handles coming out, the huge touch screen. They will feel how quiet and smooth the car is and best of all, they will surely ask the driver about the first thing people worry about with EVs: range. So the driver will give them a first hand encounter of the real range and the speed of Supercharging, which will blow their mind as most people still equate all EVs to only drive maybe a 100km and need charging for half a day.

 

[Red Sage]

I really want to see this done at LAX. I get the impression though that some taxi/livery/limousine companies are waiting for the Tesla Model X. And in some parts of Los Angeles, quite a few hotels will very likely replace their shuttles with Model X too.

 

[Hkpkfan]

I really wanted to do this in Hong Kong. I was ready to buy a couple of Teslas and slowly try to build up a fleet over time. I contacted the appropriate government dept. and they require a very detailed and technical application to get approval to be an official car that offers taxi service. It can realistically only be filled out by the car manufacturer. When I contacted the HK Tesla folks, they said they have NO interest in being a HK taxi, so my dream plan ended. :-(

 

[JRP3]

Maybe you should try contacting the US Tesla folks, they may have a different opinion.

 

[markwj]

I really wanted to do this in Hong Kong. I was ready to buy a couple of Teslas and slowly try to build up a fleet over time. I contacted the appropriate government dept. and they require a very detailed and technical application to get approval to be an official car that offers taxi service. It can realistically only be filled out by the car manufacturer. When I contacted the HK Tesla folks, they said they have NO interest in being a HK taxi, so my dream plan ended. :-(

What about the Uber style approach? Taxis in Hong Kong are very heavily regulated (and license fees are killing). But, limousines are easier.

I hear that W is increasing to 10 vehicles.

 

[Ludus]

Uber Black and XL seem to be doing fine in HK.

 

[Hkpkfan]

What about the Uber style approach? Taxis in Hong Kong are very heavily regulated (and license fees are killing). But, limousines are easier.

I hear that W is increasing to 10 vehicles.

The reason I looked at the taxi way initially is because there are taxi management companies that hire the drivers and park the cars and what not, so it's pretty hands off. I just needed to buy a car and buy a license (which is astronomical) and I was in business. I thought about buying 1 or 2 licenses and then trying to see if it would work out and if they were doing well slowly get more Teslas. If it was a failure I could just sell the licenses which are always appreciating, so the risk of loss is pretty low when you buy an expensive asset like a HK taxi license.


I've been trying to read up on how uber and the Limo companies are legal, because the gov't site showed me there are 4 types of driving permits that allow you to drive people around and I wasn't sure which one applied to uber or limo's, but obviously they fall under one of those because there are a bunch of limo services. I think that's a different business model because I'd have to now create a company, need to pay for a place to park the vehicles, hire drivers, have a proper business location, advertise and find customers, etc. It's not impossible, I'm still thinking about it, but it's a lot more investment of time and more risk. Do you think the Hong Kong market would pay for a Tesla limo pickup service?

 

[SwedishAdvocate]

Taxi Stockholm (in Stockholm, Sweden) has bought two Model Ss. It seems it's some kind of test operation. If all goes well they'll apparently buy eight more this year.


Sources (in Swedish):

Tesla model S – modern teknologi nästa steg i miljövisionen - Taxi Stockholm [The companys official web page (My edit.)]

Taxi Stockholms Tesla Model S - Tesla Club Sweden [An article at the Swedish Tesla Club web page (My edit.)]




NOTE:

If you're ever in Stockholm and need a taxi:

BEWARE!

And perhaps this applies to other parts of Sweden as well (?) The kind of unregulated taxi-market we have in Sweden means that any Taxi driver is 'free' to set whatever price he wants (most if not all are male). That means you could be asked to pay hundreds of $$$ or more for just a short taxi fare. They must post the price somewhere on the outside of the taxi, but if you miss this information and begin a fare, then it's too late. The big companies in Stockholm – like Taxi Stockholm above that has started to operate two Teslas – of course don't do this, but there are plenty of taxis that have been decked out so they look almost like a taxi from the big serious companies. Detecting these 'imposter taxis' can apparently be somewhat tricky. See for example:

The great Swedish taxi rip-off - The Local

That article was written in 2009, but it's apparently still just as bad (!)