My Uber/Tesla Bonus Purchase Journey [Part 1]

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My name is Jeffrey White. I am a full-time rideshare driver operating out of the Austin, TX market.?

I have been driving full-time rideshare for about 4 ? years, and I have completed about 17,000 trips combined on Uber, Lyft, and Wridz.?

Prior to that, I worked in corporate America for a large semiconductor capital equipment company for twenty-plus years. After many years of ups and downs and rounds of layoffs - my number finally came up.?

I got laid off and decided to try rideshare. I still very much enjoy being a rideshare driver, but with upfront fares and oversaturation and increasing driver costs it is definitely much more challenging to be profitable.?

So my journey continues - but now in a Tesla.

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MY DECISION

I started my rideshare career in a 2011 Chrysler Town and Country.?

Back in 2019, rate cards for Basic and XL trips were pretty good, and with additional bonuses, quests, ride challenges, surges, and fewer drivers on the road, my market was pretty good.

Overtime, my 2011 Chrysler Town and Country started developing some electrical problems, and I donated it to a local High School auto repair vocational department.?

I took the tax write-off, got my wife another vehicle, and then put her (now my) 2019 Dodge Grand Caravan into service on the TNCs.?

Still doing pretty well; I qualified for Basic and XL on both platforms and Uber Comfort. Rate cards were still pretty good, there was a fair amount of surge and bonus opportunities, and oversaturation wasn’t really a thing, especially going through the Covid years.

But times changed, and so did the rideshare companies, their algorithms, and their strategy.?

I realized if I was going to continue doing rideshare that I had to change.?

First came upfront fares - that was (as Sergio says) a huge haircut. Next, Uber changed their car qualifications, so my minivan no longer qualified for Comfort.?

Not that Comfort pricing was great, but it certainly was better than Basic, and losing it (and the larger tips that come with it) was hard to take.?

Then massive oversaturation in my market kicked in, dramatically reducing fares to drivers and creating ZERO need for TNCs to offer surges and bonuses. I was regularly seeing Basic trips and 50 to 60 cents per mile.?

And with rate rebalancing - the longer the trip, the less you make.?

More drivers competing for any trips, let alone profitable trips, made it very difficult, if not impossible, to be profitable. And, of course, the more you drive, eventually your car will require more costly repairs.?

Within the last eight months, I had to replace a transmission and a catalytic converter - both costly and time-consuming. I knew I needed to do something different, so I decided to run an experiment.?

I rented a Tesla Model 3 through Uber/Hertz to see if I could make an EV (and specifically a Tesla) work in my market.?

I wanted to learn how to drive it, how to extend my range, how to manage my day, how many trips there were, how they paid, how much it was to charge, and many other things.?

While renting the Tesla from Uber, I knew I could only drive Uber, which meant no earnings from Lyft. And the rental costs are expensive (and a bit ridiculous), but I knew I could write-off the rental fees so it wasn’t like a complete waste of money.?

For me and the purposes of running this experiment, it was the right decision. I rented on and off for about 8 weeks. This gave me enough on-the-ground, real, actual results to feel comfortable making the jump. And so I did.

WHY TESLA

So, why did I choose a Tesla , and specifically a Tesla Model Y??

First of all, I want to be clear: I am pretty agnostic when it comes to EVs.?

I know some people love them, and others hate them. I respect all opinions, and for me, this was only about making money. Based on my experiment, I believed I could make more money with fewer expenses and in less time, with an EV than any other options I had.?

Add the $7,500 tax credit applied at purchase and the additional Uber $1,000 bonus after 100 trips - so much the better.?

The Tesla Model Y allowed me to drive more and better paying tiers of service - Uber Comfort, Uber Comfort Electric, Uber Premier, Lyft Extra Comfort and Lyft Black (if your model is black on black).?

There is a version of the Tesla Model Y that qualifies for XL, but after driving XL for years - large groups can be very difficult. More problems and depreciation, and for me I didn’t want to deal with that anymore.?

Plus, the Model Y 3rd row, at best, is tiny and generally only suited for no one bigger than a 12-year-old.

During my experiment with the Tesla Model 3, I had the opportunity to drive the standard range and the long range. The specific vehicles I had rented showed the maximum range of the Tesla Model 3 at about 275 miles and the Long Range Model 3 at about 310 miles.?

Now a lot of factors can impact that. The biggest, in my case, was running air conditioning. Our summers are long, and last summer in Austin was brutal.?

I lost count of the 105 to 108 degree days as they seemed to go on forever, and it is not uncommon for it to be 98 degrees at 10:30 at night. So, the air conditioning gets a massive workout, and that will absolutely eat into your maximum range.

So I made my decision. It would be a Tesla Model Y, Long Range Black on Black.

THE PURCHASING PROCESS

Before I could begin, I needed to sell my 2019 Dodge Grand Caravan with 168,000 miles.?

Even though it had a lot of miles, it was in very good shape, and after about ten days of listings on Facebook Marketplace, I was able to get a number that worked for me.?

I would be using the funds from the sale of my minivan and some other money I had set aside for my next vehicle to make a good-sized down payment and finance the balance.

Now, this next part is very important.?

In order to qualify for the $1,000 Uber bonus (which for certain drivers could be up to $2,000 depending on their status), you must use a specific link for the promotion sent to you from Uber either in the app or from email.?

This link goes to a Tesla website that contains New and Used vehicles from their inventory. I chose to use the link Uber provided from email since I could access it from my computer which made everything for me much easier.?

If you don’t use this link, you won’t be included in the bonus promotion. And even if you use the correct link, there is NO tracking with the Uber app or anywhere on any paperwork that you are a part of this bonus promotion.?

I know, crazy, right? *(At the time of writing this article, I was trying to contact Uber to see if there is any way to track this bonus. So far, I don’t have a good answer from Uber on this point).

This next point is also very important.?

As I mentioned, the link provides access to New and Used Teslas. The $1000 Uber Bonus only applies to NEW vehicles and NOT USED ones. If you purchase a Used vehicle through the provided link, you will not be included in the bonus.?

My original idea was to buy a Used Model Y, but I ultimately chose a new one because of the Uber $1000 bonus and the $7,500 tax credit. Used EVs don’t qualify for the tax credit.

Now I’m ready to go. And this is where it gets really weird.?

I’m 57 and have purchased many new vehicles, but never have I purchased one in this way. For what it’s worth, I much prefer it, but it was really different.?

Instead of going to a dealership and spending hours negotiating and haggling price and fees and threatening to walk out and coming back and eventually coming to some kind of agreement and then immediately doubting that you really got a good deal… you are simply at your computer.?

You enter some filters like:

• Your Zip Code
• Distance to look from Zip Code (I wanted to see all vehicles regardless of location)
• New
• Model Y
• Exterior Black
• Interior Black
• Long Range
• Tire Size

All the vehicles that match are displayed.?

I then sorted based on the closest distance to me and found one that matched my needs.

The prices listed are the prices listed.?

The only additional costs are a destination fee applied to all new vehicles, state taxes, and DMV fees. That’s it unless, during the ordering process, you want to add on “Full-Self Driving” or other options. In my case, I chose to include a Wall Connector for charging.

I was then able to select the Finance tab and enter some customized financing information, such as my down payment and terms on the remaining balance I was going to finance.?

I was presented with an amount I needed to pay as a deposit, which included the wall charger, and I had completed the first part of the process.?

And just like that, I was well on my way.?

I continued to my account and paid the deposit… so far, so good. From there, I was invited to download the Tesla App to complete the purchase of the vehicle and arrange for pick-up.?

I went to the Android Play Store, downloaded the app , created my username and password, and was prompted through the rest of the process from within the app itself. Weird but cool. I mean, I guess this is how it is done.?

At this point, I did get nervous. Not because of any particular thing, but this kind of purchase for this amount of money was all very new.?

So, from the website, I called a Tesla representative and asked some basic questions like:

• What documents are required?
• How is insurance handled?
• How do I transfer my down payment?
• How do I complete the financing?

He was very professional, answered my questions, and simply said the app would walk me through every step. They have done thousands and thousands of transactions, all designed to make the purchasing process easier. He was not wrong; from there, it was remarkably intuitive and simple.

Now that I had determined a specific vehicle with a specific VIN #, I spoke with my insurance agent to get insured for the vehicle. A bit of a shocker, but car insurance prices have really gone up, which I’m sure every rideshare driver in every market knows.?

Mine was no exception, but in for a penny in for a pound, I was able to get my vehicle insured so back to the app to upload my driver's license and insurance information. After that, I had to Docusign the finance papers and transfer the down payment.

Yes, transferring the down payment. It was a pretty large sum of money, and from my earlier conversation with Tesla sales support, I felt “reasonably” comfortable.?

I decided to finance directly through Tesla. My financing options were not the best, but I knew that based on my down payment, the remaining amount was not that significant, and with a far lower monthly payment than my previous weekly Hertz/Uber rental fees, I would be able to pay additional amounts each month and pay the vehicle off early.

I began the steps to process the down payment through the app. I used Tesla’s 3rd party transaction partner (Plaid). I entered my banking information and accepted all agreements and approvals to allow my bank account to be linked for the transaction.?

I was entering my bank account information and routing numbers when I panicked. The routing number populated by the Tesla app did not match the routing number on my checking account.

So once again, I called Tesla sales support and was connected with an agent who again professionally explained that banks have more than one routing number.?

The routing number that had been auto-populated in the app was, in fact, the correct number, and in his experience had never had a problem with any transaction.?

So I took a deep breath and a leap of faith, transferred the funds… and thankfully, the transaction was flawless.?

At that point, the app showed only one remaining step - schedule my appointment to accept the vehicle and sign the physical paperwork. I scheduled the appointment and showed up at the appointed time, ready to take ownership.

I was curious to see how my appointment would play out. I took my driver's license and insurance as well as the financing papers I had Docusigned.?

Once I physically arrived on-site, I let the app know and was greeted by a Tesla representative. He showed me my specific vehicle, ready to go with my name displayed inside.?

I signed some paperwork for the temporary tags and then paired my car to my phone. I reviewed it for any issues (seeing none), and I asked some basic questions on maintenance issues.?

I had driven the Model 3 for a long time and was comfortable with all the basic features. I was there for maybe 30 minutes max. That was it… I was a Tesla owner.?

So I was all in.?

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From the time I started on the website to the time I finished in the app, it took about 4 to 5 days. It would have been faster, but I had a bit of a delay and back and forth in connecting with my insurance agent.?

I went from renting a Tesla Model 3 at around $500/week, not including charging and tolls, to $279/month.?

Now, the $500 per week rental did include insurance coverage, so my overall monthly expense on the vehicle, including insurance, went from $2000/month to about $600/month.?

And I could drive on both Uber and Lyft, now including Lyft Black .?

My market does not have Uber Black, but I was hoping to have at least one platform with a Black service level would really help with my earnings.?

Time will tell.?

The next step was getting the vehicle approved and on the TNCs and hopefully start making a profit.?

?It took about 3 hours total for my Tesla Model Y to show up in the apps (even with temporary tags) and allow me to begin taking trips.?

OK, let's take some trips!

Stay tuned for a recap of my first days of driving the Tesla Model Y in the next email!

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