Photo: Gardiner Anderson/for New York Daily News
Electric moped-sharing startup Revel is adding Tesla Model Y to its fleet. The company is launching its ride-hailing service in New York, using only Tesla vehicles. Fifty Model Ys are due to hit the roads of Manhattan next month, August 2021.
Revel has finally received the green light to launch its own ride-hailing service in New York, with a fleet fully consisting of Tesla vehicles, according to New York Daily News. Company executives said they plan to launch the service on August 2 with 50 blue Tesla Model Y SUVs.
It's happening! Revel's all-electric, all-employee rideshare fleet will be live on Aug. 2 in #NYC.
— Revel (@_GoRevel) July 26, 2021
Paired with our fast charger Superhub, we're pushing EV adoption and reducing CO2 emissions.
Proud of our team! https://t.co/vRbOFviKuD$TSLA #ClimateCrisis #ElectricVehicles
At the end of April, Revel announced that it was expanding into the ride-hailing business. The service was to be launched with an initial fleet of 50 Tesla Model Y vehicles, which users were to be able to order through the app starting at the end of May. However, the company faced opposition from the city Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC), which did not want to put more taxis on the road. “The TLC voted to close a loophole and stop the proliferation of new cars from further flooding an already oversaturated market,” said TLC spokesman Allan Fromberg.
Nevertheless, despite the difficulties, Revel received permission to launch Tesla vehicles on the roads of New York. Company executives said they have received 49 license plates approved by TLC for their 50 vehicles to date. 15 of these vehicles have already been tested and are allowed to take to the streets next week. The remaining 35 will appear when they are inspected and approved.
“We want to reconcile their concerns about more cars on the road,” said Revel CEO Frank Reig. “There’s a very critical and immediate need to accelerate electric vehicle adoption in this city. It’s not going to happen if we don’t communicate and we don’t work together. ”
Unlike Uber and Lyft, Revel plans to operate in a different way. The company will be responsible for all of the costs associated with ride-hailing, including maintenance, cleaning, and charging of vehicles. Drivers will also be hired by Revel as employees and will have access to training, medical care, and paid vacation.
© 2021, Eva Fox. All rights reserved.
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Article edited by @SmokeyShorts, you can follow him on Twitter
About the Author
Eva Fox
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.
