Bait – and switch – is an ancient tactic of the sleazy salesman. Advertise one thing, to get the mark interested – then sell him another thing, invariably more expensive. It often works because many people are marks – people susceptible to the bait and switch.
A mass-scale example of the tactic in practice is unfolding in – where else? – California.
The marks were baited with “ride sharing” – this idea of not needing a car because someone else would have one and they could pay for the ride, rather than for the car. And the mark who did have the car was baited with the idea of a freewheeling, independent way of making a living.
Enter the switch – which in California is styled “Clean Miles.” By 2030 – only seven years hence – 90 percent of the miles driven by ride-sharing services such a Uber and Lyft must be “clean.” Meaning electric, as nothing else qualifies. And that means everyone who drives for a ride-sharing service such as Uber or Lyft will have to buy an electric car in order to be able to continue working for Uber or Lyft.
Enter the invariably more expensive part – and not just for the marks who drive for Uber and Lyft. When a product or service is made more expensive, the people who buy the product or use the service are expected to pay more for it.
Electric cars are much more expensive than those that aren’t. The driver may not be paying anything for gas but he will be paying the 40 percent-plus mark-up that attends paying for the electric car.
And by dint of that, so will you – if you need a ride.
The good news is you will probably not be able to get one as it is improbable that Uber and Lyft drivers will be able to justify buying an electric car to give you a ride in. Ride-sharing costs the drivers a lot already, in the form of wear-and-tear, insurance and so on – all of which they are responsible for. This latter being the original bait these ride-sharing services used to get marks to use their vehicles, at their expense, to provide a service for Uber and Lyft.
Many of the driver-marks are people on the periphery of the economy, just scraping by. They Uber – and Lyft – because they can. Almost anyone can. The major requirements are a valid driver’s license and possession of a car that meets Uber and Lyft’s requirements, which up to now has meant a late-model vehicle in good working order. Which meant practically any vehicle. Which meant practically anyone who wanted to Uber or Lyft could do so, whether as a full-time or side gig.
But to make it work as a money-making thing – for the drivers, that is – it was necessary to drive enough to offset the costs of owning and driving the vehicle. Most drivers reportedly end up making less than $10 per hour, net – after deducting the cost of driving.
What will it cost them to drive an electric car?
Well, their job for openers.
It is absurd to think that people on the periphery of the economy, who are making less than $10 per hour driving other people around – and often just barely getting by – are in a position to spend 40 percent more on the cars they drive people around in. That being the difference in cost, roughly, between the least expensive electric cars – e.g., the Nissan Leaf, which starts around $27k – and non-electric equivalents such as a Nissan Versa, which starts around $16k.
“If you’re not making a lot of money, you’re not going to be able to buy a Tesla to drive for Uber,” says Alvaro Bolainez, an Uber and Lyft driver and the vice president of Rideshare Drivers United, a California-based advocacy group.
It’s like demanding that people who work at McDonald’s buy custom-tailored suits and wear Bruno Magli shoes to work.
That analogy goes deeper, too. Custom-tailored suits and Bruno Maglis won’t hold up for long working the fry machine at McDonald’s. And neither will electric cars in ride-sharing service, as they will be in almost constant use and so their batteries – their most expensive part – will be constantly discharged (and then “fast” charged) assuring the need for sooner replacement thereof. The inevitable cost of that will have to be folded into the cost of your ride-share, too.
No doubt, the government will come to the rescue, to solve the problem it created. There will probably be more subsidies to “incentivize” the “transition.” But you can only shove so much cost under the rug before the lump becomes insurmountable.
Meanwhile, the marks are baited in the same way that marks are always baited. Uber says it will pay drivers who drive EeeeeeeVeeees a whole extra dollar for every ride given in an EeeeeeeeVeeeee.
It is why they are marks – and always will be.
. . .
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Just returned from a 2 week vacation in England. One nite heading back to my son’s flat we took an Uber. I got to talking to the driver. He told me that in a few years Uber/Lyfte drivers will be required to use EVs. He said that Uber is helping them purchase Teslas, part of the bait is that the cars are fully “warrantied”. Now I used scare quotes because the driver told me that they aren’t. A friend of his bought one of those Teslas, but in a few weeks he had problems with it. Took it into Tesla and they told his friend that the battery pack needed replacing. The driver told them that the car was fully warrantied, but the dealer said nope the battery isn’t covered. The guy asked how much it would cost. he was told 26,000 pounds. The driver reached out to Uber who told him sorry can’t help ya mate. Expect more such stories
someone took a Lyft home from the airport. Rode in a Tesla Model 3.
Asked the driver what it cost $70k. He doesn’t charge at home. Too slow…… leaves it over night at a commercial charging station.
He also said he had to replace the tires after only three months of driving. $1200.
uber/lyft driver makes an average of $0.82 per mile
TOTALS: cost per mile to run an EV…….
Tesla EV using a home charger total cost per mile = $0.95
Tesla EV using a fast charger total cost per mile = $1.05
Hi Anon,
Anyone who buys a Tesla and works for Lyft or Uber is a special sort of imbecile. I wonder who wrote the loan on the car…
Circa 2015 when Lyft and Uber finally got to east Idaho, I remember seeing a Tesla with a lyft badge. My first thought was how stupid can that SOB be? You can’t make much money driving any car for them, especially a 70-100 grand car. It was the big sedan that is 70k to start.
Early on, I remember seeing many uber/lyft cars driving around here. Now they are few and far between. Never seen any electrics since that time.
Got one person to stop driving for Pizza Hut (pizza delivery) after showing him he was losing money doing it.
Most people don’t figure out the true costs of driving for ride shares, food delivery etc. You aren’t making money. So I suggest helping people figure out their expenses and get them to stop paying to work to make other people money.
I’m investing in popcorn to watch all this self destruct
Hi Dan.
I’d also invest in a mossberg 590 and glock 19 for when the popcorn runs out…
“Biden’s” welfare queens get a fresh wodge of free money:
‘The Biden administration on Wednesday awarded $2.8 billion in grants to build and expand domestic manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles in 12 states. A total of 20 companies will receive grants for projects.
‘Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, who announced the grant competition in May, called the funding announcement “huge” news that would expand made-in-America battery manufacturing for EVs and the electric grid.
‘In a separate development, German automaker BMW said Wednesday it will invest $1 billion in its sprawling factory near Spartanburg, SC, to start building electric vehicles and an additional $700 million to build a battery plant nearby.’
https://apnews.com/article/biden-technology-climate-and-environment-government-politics-business-9c0d800185cf85d02c37cee7dfae536e
Since when does any other consumer item we buy need a subsidy from the US clowngov? EeeVees have to be subsidized because they are a piece of shit, full stop.
Maybe we should give a pass to the poor krauts. As compliant slaves of NATO, they’ve starved their own country of the gas supplies needed to manufacture stuff at home.
Now when we say, “Build me an EeeVee, bitch,” they cringe and whimper, “What color, Sir?”
If you want to have a similar route, the air is the place to be.
A bit nebulous, but here’s the deal. Wheels Up (ticker UP) is a speculative stock that is on the exchanges.
A charter service with a share price of 1.22 USD today. Just so you know.
Air travel is the safest form of travel, if 100,000 people died in air crashes every year like they do in auto accidents around the world, nobody would fly.
500 plane crashes killing 200 people is 1.5 air traffic accidents each day. The industry would be toast in a New York minute.
Have never used Lyft or Uber and never plan to at the moment.
Not interested in the business, ten dollars per hour is robbing you of money and time. It is not going to pay.
Every single cab company quit doing business in the micropolitan area where I live and breathe when gas exceeded 4.00 USD per gallon.
There they were… gone.
Lyft and Uber will probably go down the same road.
That is all.
Like, no kidding:
EV Owner Takes 15 Hours to Drive 175 Miles, “Very Difficult”
https://www.theepochtimes.com/very-difficult-electric-vehicle-owner-took-15-hours-to-drive-175-miles_4803889.html
People bought EV’s and thought they could drive almost for free, they wouldn’t have to buy gas anymore, they would save a lot of money.
The reality is a lot different….
TOTALS: cost per mile…….
Tesla EV using a home charger total cost per mile = $0.84
Tesla EV using a fast charger total cost per mile = $0.94
VW diesel total cost per mile = $0.35
Comparing cost per mile, 10 years, 100,000 miles:
Tesla EV and VW diesel
I saw rates somewhere at $0.14 per kwh at home, that is due to probably triple very soon.
in Europe it costs $0.72 per kwh, coming here soon.
I saw rates nation wide at fast chargers outside home at $0.40 per kwh
What test drivers are actually getting driving in the real world driving EV’s is they are getting 2.4 miles of range for every kwh
An EV just sitting loses:
tesla says a daily 3%-5% stationary range consumption.” (just parked) leakage, batteries leak power, ice cars don’t
90 kwh x .05 = 4.5 kwh lost per day leakage x $0.14 = $0.63 per day just parked = $0.02 per mile
Ice diesel:
The 2014 Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion diesel, capable of 73.5 mpg U.S. it has a 971 mile range, the perfect car.
VW diesel 100 mile fuel consumption = 1.36 gallons @ $4.00 gallon = $5.44 = $0.0544 per
mile
Tesla EV @ home 100 mile fuel consumption = 41.66 kwh @ $0.14 kwh = $5.83 = $0.0583 per mile
Tesla EV @ fast charger 100 mile fuel consumption = 41.66 kwh @ $0.40 kwh = $16.64 = $0.16 per mile
the tesla $22,000 battery is used up, worn out in 100,000 miles. = $0.22 per mile for the battery use,
the battery use cost is higher then the electricity used. A hidden cost, nobody told you about. maybe a lawsuit?
Tire costs
The tires on EVs tend to wear out faster due to the additional weight and extra torque that hits the road. Plus, EV tires typically have less tread to improve range and decrease noise, they need special more expensive HL rated tires.
Tesla tire size 235 35 20 $391.00
VW Golf tire size 225 45 R17 $119.00
In 100,000 miles if the tesla needs 4 replacement sets = $391.00 x 16 tires = $6256.00 = $0.06 per mile
In 100,000 miles if the VW Golf needs 2 replacement sets = $119.00 x 8 tires = $952.00 = $0.01 per mile
Tesla EV costs $50,000 depreciation over 10 years is $39,500 = $0.39 per mile
the VW diesel costs $24,355 depreciation over 10 years is $19,240 = $0.19 per mile
Tesla EV costs for maintenance and repair: $1000.00 per year = $0.10 per mile
VW diesel costs for maintenance and repair: : $1000.00 per year = $0.10 per mile
TOTALS: cost per mile…….
Tesla EV using a home charger total cost per mile = $0.84
Tesla EV using a fast charger total cost per mile = $0.94
VW diesel total cost per mile = $0.35
The VW diesel cost per mile includes the gas road tax, the Tesla EV doesn’t include that, but it will pretty soon….watch…
This doesn’t include insurance costs, if insurance costs $3.00 per day = $0.11 per mile
2014 Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion for sale… $6403.00….buy one…
https://www.motors.co.uk/volkswagen/golf/trim/bluemotion/year/2014/used-cars/
After all their car expenses these uber/lyft drivers make less then minimum wage, they are just being used, plus they get no benefits, no stat holliday pay, etc., uber is just screwing them and they got the government to approve it….
TOTALS: cost per mile…….
Tesla EV using a home charger total cost per mile = $0.84
Tesla EV using a fast charger total cost per mile = $0.94
VW diesel total cost per mile = $0.35
The VW diesel cost per mile includes the gas road tax, the Tesla EV doesn’t include that, but it will pretty soon….watch…
This doesn’t include insurance costs, if insurance costs $3.00 per day = $0.11 per mile
when they start paying for an EV they might be making nothing
Tesla EV using a home charger …. total cost per mile = $0.84 plus insurance = $0.95 per mile, the government allows about $0.60 per mile as a tax write off, there is another big problem…..
Let’s say a passenger takes a ride from Santa Monica, CA to LAX and the ride takes 30 minutes and comes out to 8.9 miles.
For a 8.9 mile trip the Uber driver makes $15.28 = $1.71 per mile, if there is a return trip with no fare = $0.86 per mile.
$1.71 per mile minus $0.95 vehicle expense = $0.76 per mile x 8.9 miles = $6.76 total x 30 min = $13.52 per hr.
but… if there is a return trip with no fare = $0.86 per mile minus $0.95 vehicle expense = losing money….
TOTALS: cost per mile to run an EV…….
Tesla EV using a home charger total cost per mile = $0.95
Tesla EV using a fast charger total cost per mile = $1.05
VW diesel total cost per mile = $0.46
uber pay
https://therideshareguy.com/how-much-do-uber-drivers-make/
How Much Does Uber Pay Per Mile?: Uber Pay Rate
The answer to this question varies by market and has changed over the years.
From a self-reported list compiled on Reddit in 2021, it can range anywhere from $0.54/mile (Orlando, FL) to $1.55/mile (Pismo Beach, CA).
The entire list provided on Reddit averages $0.817 per mile.
Let’s say a passenger takes a ride from Santa Monica, CA to LAX and the ride takes 30 minutes and comes out to 8.9 miles.
For a 8.9 mile trip the Uber driver makes $7.29 = $0.82 per mile, if there is a return trip with no fare = $0.41 per mile.
$0.82 per mile minus $0.95 vehicle expense = losing money
but… if there is a return trip with no fare = $0.41 per mile = losing more money….
averages $0.817 per mile….if your vehicle expense is $0.95 or $1.05 per mile you lose money.
with a VW diesel total cost per mile = $0.46…you would make some money…..
To your point: https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2022/10/17/cost-of-public-charging-an-ev-is-now-more-expensive-than-filling-up-with-diesel-parkers/
I just can’t wait for this EV crap to end, it’s being shoved down our throats like the Grapist
Utah’s Great Salt Lake shrinks to unsustainable levels amid a decades-long megadrought…
https://youtu.be/bsBXpt5RIsQ
The gist of the story: Lack of rainfall is causing the lake to dry out. While true we are in a drought the elephant in the room is that for most of the western cities the amount of water needed was always much less than the supply. Now that the cities are growing at a dramatic rate the water use is increased. We see it in the Colorado river, where the “northern” states never used their whole allocation and therefore it was passed along to California. Now that Denver, St George, Albuquerque, Pheonix and Las Vegas (metropolitan areas, not just the municipalities themselves) are getting an influx of Cali expats the water is being used. The story linked above interviewed the SLC mayor, who’s taken steps to encourage water conservation (by increasing the price of water), they only pointed out that other cities (such as Provo) aren’t overtaxing their citizens. My guess is that on a per-household basis the actual water used has been decreasing over time, but because of the Calexit total use is skyrocketing.
Fatwas have consequences.
‘and so their batteries – their most expensive part – will be constantly discharged (and then “fast” charged)’ — eric
Yesterday at a party I got an earful about how batteries — both traditional lead-acid and Li-ion — tend to die young in ‘the Valley’ (Phoenix metro area), where they really cook from March to October.
To the amazement of all, one person — an escaped Californicator — cited the Arrhenius equation that we all knew and loved from physical chemistry, which says that reaction rates speed up as temperature rises.
Translation: roast your damned battery, and suddenly its life is ticking away in dog years instead of human years.
Presumably technical papers explore this subject further. But I can’t be arsed to look them up, not being a fan of EeeVeeeeeees.
I had a car battery conk out on me during a week of 90-degree days.
I think one dirty little secret of how Uber and Luft made money is pass (or hide) the cost of commercial auto insurance on to the mark (driver), who (perhaps unwittingly) cheats the system and uses his own private/personal auto insurance. If and when the Uber driver gets into an accident, he better send is customer away fast and take down that Uber sign otherwise he will find himself not covered for commercial cab service insurance and he is on his own.
How to solve that problem: self-driving electric vehicles with no Marks required. The customer will have to sign an agreement for the service to carry insurance for the ride and indemnify Uber for damages or no more soup for you.
Eric, think you will ‘enjoy’ this. It’s kind of a strange site. This article is very short.
https://pieceofmindful.com/2022/10/17/dear-neighbors-please-stop-using-electricity-while-we-charge-our-evs/
Hi Elaine,
Thanks for this. Crikey. The writer sums it up nicely: Spoiled/entitled brats in need of a spanking by the adults….
If I saw that in my neighborhood, I’d double my usage and unplug their vehicles if they were left outside
I’d especially do that during Summer and Winter
Second that Zane, entitled little bitches!
And in that same article, saw this: https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2022/10/17/cost-of-public-charging-an-ev-is-now-more-expensive-than-filling-up-with-diesel-parkers/
Speaking of Diesels, I’d say if, but I gotta believe I will, so when I make it big: https://dieseltoys.com/
Eric,
Here’s a news flash: Uber and Lyft want to ELIMINATE the driver entirely! The head of Uber spoke about the need to lower costs by “getting rid of that other dude in the car”, i.e. the driver.
Hi Mark,
It’s awful. I feel for the people whose jobs are being “outsource” to machines… and it’s going to be all of us, eventually. They even have machines writing articles now.
And polluting comment sections with how they now earn $1800 per hour working from home…
It’s really not that hard working on your back or your knees… though you’d have to be HARD working to consistently get that $1800…
hi eric
lots of content is written by AI bots now
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All of the stories I’ve seen which speculate about EV battery life in everyday use base their projections on data from heavy fleet use in the temperate climates of California. Wear and tear wouldn’t be as significant as the vehicles being used in more extreme environments on either end of the temperature/humidity range, say Buffalo or Miami.
The Lyft/Uber drivers around here (Austin) tend to use hybrids since the stop and go traffic at the airport or downtown are hard on IC vehicles.
Hi Roscoe,
I guess we’ll see!
Every battery I’ve ever had – as in laptops and so on – doesn’t last as long if regularly discharged and recharged. My Mac laptop needs a new battery, in fact – and the manual says this is common after “x” discharge/recharge cycles. And the battery in my laptop doesn’t have to move two tons of steel and plastic and glass… or heat my living room!
How old is the Mac laptop? Essentially any Mac laptop with a “Retina” screen and very thin construction was designed to be disposable and the batteries are not easy to replace if it is at all possible so the bottom portion will essentially have to be thrown away.
Just like an EV!
What a pity. I’ve used Uber plenty of times –it was easy, cheap, & effective. Which is precicely why the iron fist of the demo-bolsheviks to smash down upon it.
These are the same demo-bolsheviks geniuses who:
-brought you the ventless gas can
-insist CO2 is a pollutant (.04% of the atmosphere)
-insist on a prescription for O2 (21% of the atmosphere)
-call J6 an insurrection
–
Taxi medallions for the airports in San Francisco and LA are highly prized property, the market for which Uber/Lyft upended.
Even here in Austin, the ride shares were banned within the city, including the airport, until a deal was worked out with the taxi companies.
At the time, the running joke in the is that half of the 6th Street patrons wouldn’t get home on Saturday night if they couldn’t summon a vehicle with a single button press on their sail phones. A deal was inevitable.
The city tried an old fashioned drunk tank — in the old morgue! — which wasn’t popular and quickly shut down. I was reminded of “Night Shift” starring Henry Winkler, “You people are partying … in a morgue.”
“[Vomiting sound]”
I hate, with red hot rage, the gas cans we are forced to buy. The reasons for the Byzantine new nozzles are unknown (climate change, I presume). But I can’t tell you how much gas I have spilled trying to fill up a mower or snow blower, etc. All of which then evaporates and makes holes in the ozone layer, and makes me have to buy even more gas. But hey, at least my lawn mower won’t burn what spilled on my hands, machine, and driveway. Another solution in search of a problem that has caused 12 new problems.
They can’t seem to help themselves. The Psychopaths In Charge that is. They snatch a problem out of the clear blue sky, and decide to destroy your economic health to “save us” from it. That despite being the very most serious problem most people have. The very gravest danger to our liberty, prosperity, and indeed our very lives, does not reside in Russia or China. It resides in Washington DC. And Sacramento. Among others.
That’s a good take on the Psychos John – constantly making up solutions in search of a “problem”.
Mike,
Or proposing to “solve” a problem they created in the first place.
Which, I might add, is exactly what the Fed is currently trying to do.
So, your battery wears out and you are done working for the day unless you have a backup on your $10/hr rate.
Reckon they did the same with horses when cars came out? Just make the environment impossible to ride one. Just another day on the People Farm. Unfortunately for us it appears that the Farmers are culling the herd.
A whole extra dollar? Well problem solved! 🤣
I bet that a whole lot of people are gonna try to “make it work” anyway. That is, go into debt and/or just squeak by — leveraged to the hilt — thinking that it’ll somehow come together, get fixed, down the road.
It seems that a whole lot of people are not good at forecasting long term results and mitigating risks. They seem to adopt the government’s “we’ll deal with that when we get to it” approach, not realizing that they’re not made of other people’s money. Probably hoping the government will bail them out one way or another.
My forecast on that situation is (based on the above), that there will be a short term continuation of Uber/Lyft but that it will crash. Then it’ll all go back to the taxi cab companies that have never been huge fans of ride sharing. However, when that happens the price of taxis — already stupid expensive — is going to be under similar pressure and will skyrocket.
Then taxis or ride shares will only be available to people with money to burn. Everybody else, walk, bicycle, moped, or public transportation!
EM,
“Everybody else, walk, bicycle, moped, or public transportation!”
Which is the exact goal of the EV thing. Much easier to control people that can’t move around at will, can’t go where and when they want. Stationary targets are easy.
Just like China.
Publius,
Which is why some time ago I determined that the animosity of the US Psychos toward those of China, and Russia, is only because the US Psychos want to eat off their plate.