Auto rental giant Turo will begin to indicate on its platform which Tesla models are equipped with the automaker's advanced driving assistance system Full Self - Driving (Supervised Version) – namely FSD. This collaboration may further promote the adoption of this driving software.
Those Turo who meet the requirements and rent out vehicles on the platform will also receive a one-month free trial of FSD. Turo indicates that they are cooperating with Tesla to directly connect to this automaker's API in order to verify which vehicles have enabled FSD.
A few days before the release of this announcement, Tesla just published updated data showing that the automaker has finally managed to get more customers to pay for this software. The software can handle most driving tasks, but it still requires human supervision.
Last week, Tesla revealed that approximately 1.7 million customers worldwide paid for FSD, and as of now, the company has produced and sold over 10 million cars. The company stated that among the customers who received vehicles in North America during the third quarter, more than 75% purchased a FSD subscription. This proportion has increased by about 20% compared to the second quarter, despite Tesla's sales in the United States having been on the decline.
Over the past year, Tesla has spent a considerable amount of time reconfiguring some of its showrooms, emphasizing FSD as a more important selling point. Last week, CEO Elon Musk stated in a post that these efforts are beginning to pay off.
"People buy FSD along with the car, not the other way around," Musk wrote.
"Customers now come in and ask, 'Can we experience driving FSD?' They no longer ask about [Model] 3, [Model] Y, or Cybertruck," said Tesla's Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja during last week's earnings call.
For Turo, the addition of the FSD rental feature provides an opportunity to further increase the rental rate of some of its already most popular models. Turo stated that the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y are the third and fourth most popular models on the platform this year. “[T] his integration further increases host earning opportunities as interest in self-driving technology grows,” Turo said.
Turo CEO Andre Haddad stated in the declaration: "This industry-leading integration with Tesla is another example of Turo redefining the ways of car rental and travel. In the past, most travelers had little opportunity to experience driving assistance technologies, but the demand is clear. Our research shows that 55% of Americans are interested in driverless technology while traveling, and this proportion rises to 71% among Generation Z. Turo's market model uniquely fills the gap between consumers' curiosity and the desire for personal experience."
Customers who rent and enable FSD Tesla models through Turo will see a reminder message urging them to monitor the software and to be ready to take over at any time. Drivers can also choose to watch tutorials produced by Tesla.
The application screenshot reads: "Once enabled, your vehicle can take you almost anywhere with very little intervention from your part, under your active supervision."
At the same time, according to another screenshot provided by Turo, the vehicle list itself allows car owners to promote their cars as “Self-Driving”.
