The very first Tesla Model 3 taxi has hit the roads of New York, putting a new spin on the Joni Mitchell song, Big Yellow Taxi, that is famous for its message on the environment.
The brand new Tesla Model 3 taxi is the first of hundreds planned for the streets of New York by ride-share car hire firm, Drive Sally.
The company shared an image of the bright yellow Model 3 on Twitter after it started service during the last days of October.
“Dispatching tonight. First NYC Tesla Taxi. Can we get 1,000 more @elonmusk@Tesla?” said the company via its Twitter account.
Dispatching tonight. First NYC Tesla Taxi. Can we get 1,000 more @elonmusk @Tesla? pic.twitter.com/ZEEaDju8wa
— Sally (@drive_sally) October 30, 2020
“Happy to see this 🙂” said Tesla boss Elon Musk in a tweet on Wednesday (Australian time).
Public records accessible at the city’s website show that it is currently the only battery electric vehicle registered for use as a taxi in New York.
According to comments made by Drive Sally founder and COO Adriel Gonzalez to Business Insider, the vehicle is currently under trial.
Rather than running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, the Model 3 is being charged overnight in the Drive Sally garage.
So far, Gonzalez says that reactions to driving a battery-powered vehicle by Drive Sally drivers have been varied.
While one driver brought the car back “stressed” from range anxiety when there was still reportedly more than 270km on the clock, another was happy to bring the vehicle back with just 8km driving range left.
In the long run, however, Gonzalez thinks that drivers will be happy to pay a little extra to avoid the need to put their hands in their pockets for fuel, one of the top expenses when running a taxi.
Reactions from customers have reportedly been interesting also. Gonzalez told Business Insider that many have had trouble working out how to use the flush door handles, and the company will add “push here” stickers to make it easier for passengers.
Some who saw images of the Model 3 taxi on social media wondered if this is a prelude to the planned fleet of “robo-taxis” planned by Musk.
We can assure you this is not yet the case, with Tesla’s “fully functional” Full Self Driving feature still currently in beta mode, although it does appear to be improving rapidly.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.