Tesla, which is inarguably the greatest electric-car company in the history of the automobile, has watched over the past few years as its thunder has been stolen by the next big thing: massive-scale ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft.
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A Tesla ride-hailing service will face some serious challenges (TSLA)
There's a big issue with Tesla jumping into this space: Does anybody want to share their Tesla?
If self-driving vehicles arrive in the next five or so years, Tesla has a real problem: Uber's $60-plus-billion valuation will rocket even higher (no drivers mean more profits) and Tesla will struggle to catch up.
Tesla, of course, is advancing its own Autopilot technology, which is currently the most advanced semi-autonomous system that consumers can buy and use. The company is also equipping all of its vehicles with the necessary hardware to enable level four autonomous driving. So clearly, Tesla doesn't intend to fall behind its self-driving competitors and given the sheer number of Autopilot miles driven, the company could actually have a substantial commercial edge in the autonomous space.
But Tesla is also aiming to join the ride-hailing party with its so-called Tesla Network, which according to CEO Elon Musk, will aim to enable Tesla owners to "monetize" their ownership when they aren't driving their vehicles. The cars will be available to be rented out, in a manner of speaking.
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At Seeking Alpha, Tesla long investor "
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