Autonomy, the United States’ largest vehicle subscription company, announced late last month that it had added the Tesla Model Y Long Range to its EV line-up.
Founded in 2020 with a goal to make access to e-mobility easy and affordable through car subscriptions, Autonomy is reportedly currently taking delivery of around 200 Tesla vehicles per week.
Autonomy launched commercially in January with a range of 100 Tesla Model 3s. Since then, the popularity of the service has skyrocketed, and Autonomy now has around 1,000 Tesla vehicles – most of which are Tesla Model 3s, but there are now a few Model Ys).
Founder Scott Painter recently told Electrek that, at any given time, the company has a backlog of around 1,000 people waiting for cars. What’s most impressive about this boast is the fact that people are generally waiting five to six days to receive a vehicle, as the company is taking delivery of between 200 and 300 Teslas per week, meaning that the customer turnover is consistently growing.
And, unlike other car rental companies like Hertz – which placed an order for 100,000 models with Tesla late last year and which order base models in white – Autonomy is taking whatever it can get, including inventory vehicles like customer cars that have since cancelled their orders.
Unsurprisingly, according to Painter, Autonomy is now on the verge of ordering as many as 23,000 EVs, including models from Rivian, Lucid, Ford, and more.
But first for the company was its goal to add the popular Tesla Model Y.
“Autonomy has met the moment for consumers by making subscribing to a cool EV cheaper, faster, and easier than ever before,” said Scott Painter, CEO and founder of Autonomy.
“During the first quarter of the year, Tesla made up 75% of EVs sold, with Model Y and Model 3 making up 68% of the market by themselves, showcasing the demand and popularity for the vehicles.
“We’re seeing five times the demand we anticipated for our Tesla Model 3 program, and with gas prices soaring, we knew it was time to expand our line-up to include a popular crossover, such as the Model Y.”
Subscription pricing in California varies depending on how much per month you want to pay. Customers have the ability to pay a monthly payment of as little as $US690 with a $US7,900 start fee, or up to $US1,350 per month with a start fee of only $US1,000.
All subscriptions also require a $US500 security deposit and fully refundable reservations of $US100 are applied to the security deposit.
“The subscription value proposition is unbeatable,” said Georg Bauer, president and co-founder of Autonomy.
“When you can beat the legacy options on price, experience, and speed, you are going to win with consumers. We look forward to partnering with OEMs to expand into new brands and models and giving consumers more choices for flexible and sustainable mobility.”
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.