Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) self-driving feature for new vehicles will retail at $8,000 once validated and approved as safe for use. This cost covers the fully-autonomous driving hardware and corresponding software for all new Tesla vehicles. However, this self-driving capability will cost $10,000 if acquired separately from the vehicle. This is the first time a future car manufacturer is placing a tag on this new technology and will, therefore, be used as the industry benchmark.

Ride-hailing network

When unveiling the price on the company website, Tesla announced plans to launch a ride-hailing network probably similar to that of Uber Technologies and Lyft. In the statement accompanying the price annunciation, Tesla mentioned that this future car could be used for family and friends, but the vehicle’s ride-hailing service for commercial purposes will only be allowed through the Tesla ride sharing network to be established early next year.

Earlier in the year, Tesla Motors CEO, Elon Musk, had hinted on the probability of using the electric vehicles for commercial purposes. He mentioned that most individuals use their cars for only a few hours that don’t make up 10% of the day. He added that self-driving cars could be put into more economically productive use as their owner go about their day.

Other companies following suit

Nonetheless, Musk’s sentiments seem to be shared across the industry by most other future car manufacturers including Google, Ford Motors, BMW AG, General Motors, and Uber. These companies have also contemplated the economic viability of a driverless car in ride-sharing services. Therefore, most are either laying groundwork for the ride-hailing platform or liaising with existing networks to launch their technology. For instance, given that Uber is already testing driverless cars in Pennsylvania, General Motors turned to Lyft in an effort to come up with an agreement on how to test their self-driving cars using their network.

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With these two major announcements, Tesla has opened up the future vehicle sphere to more players and price suggestions. However, enthusiasts of these electric and fully self-driving cars have to wait for their eventual validation and approval by the transport authorities.