Could the R1S become the premier airport hauler over the Suburban and Escalade?

[Bee]

I've been toying with starting a cab company for awhile so I've always been struck by the R1S's ability to haul luggage and people in luxury while mitigating or eliminating the gas cost. It's probably a little tighter in the cabin but you get that frunk, good roller bag storage in the trunk and the under the seat storage as well for people's carry-ons.

I feel like it's more Tahoe-sized than Escalade ESV but probably not a deal breaker, right? Where are you ride-share heroes to tell me how wrong I am?

Some simple theoretical math on gas:
Escalade ESV: 250 miles / 18mpg combined = 13.88 gallons of gas * $4.50 = $62.50 / day fuel
R1S: 250 / 2.2 mi/kWh = 113.6 kWh * .12 = $13.63 / day electricity

261 working days:
Escalade ESV: $16,312 / year fuel
R1S: $3557 / year fuel

When you consider the lack of maintenance that number gets even better. Gas cabs are on their way out with that math, will the R1S lead that charge? To me the biggest obstacles will be its interior volume at least appears more cramped and the step up is a monster.

R1S Interior cut out:

Suburban Interior:

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[nc10]

Just speculating, I assume you’d be charging at home every nite to 100%? I’d want to understand how charging to 100% 260 days/year affects battery life. (Check to see if your utility offers a late nite or EV rate)

And, you’re sure you can avoid charging at more expensive public stations?

Do you sit “idling” much with ac or heat on? There was one article a few months ago hinting that was an issue for EDV’s.

I’d expect your state and local govt to start charging fees to make up for lost gas taxes. Smallish effect?


Impressive savings, before or after tax. Good luck. (Guessing you can depreciate the vehicle, but gas is a deductible expense, not sure how that works out)

 

[cmiller]

For you I doubt it would work unless this business plan is for years down the road when it might be easier to actually get a rivian. By that time there will probably be a lot more other options

 

[Gabe1aron]

Theres a shuttle company in So Cal that used Teslas as shuttles between LA and Vegas that did very well financially and demonstrated that the EVs were very efficient and had less wear compared to their ICE competition. Of course they greatly benefited from the fast and reliable supercharger network that made this long-distance shuttling round trip in one day possible

 

[Bee]

For you I doubt it would work unless this business plan is for years down the road when it might be easier to actually get a rivian. By that time there will probably be a lot more other options

The only thing that doesn't work right now is everything. I might've bought a few cars and made a go of a company in the past few years but all the math for starting works off cars coming off 3 year leases and those are selling close to new. When said new cars sell for $100k+ you can wipe out years of margins just because you chose a terrible time to get started.

So you're kind of right but if I wanted to get started "right now" it probably makes sense to drive Uber and Lyft with the Bolt or Kona EVs until the R1S becomes available or the used car market settles into some kind of normalcy you can plan around. I'm just very obviously limiting the upper ends of my income by doing that with no clear, definitive path to the business I some day want to have because the path is so far off in the future.

Sure the highest fares are SUVs but with EVs as @Gabe1aron noted the finances make a ton of sense. I've only ever driven ride shares just to see what it was like so I defer to the experts which I'm sure there are some here.

Some simple math on the Kona/Bolt (roughly same efficiencies)
250 / 3.5 mi/kWh (average between winter-summer) = 71.4 kWh * .12 = $8.50 / day electricity

On a car I own outright, no payments, in the NYC market that's an income of $50-70k while waiting.

It's what I should probably do but there's something depressing at this stage of my life doing that even though I came to it from understandable circumstances of the market just being ass right now.

 

[Bee]

Just speculating, I assume you’d be charging at home every nite to 100%? I’d want to understand how charging to 100% 260 days/year affects battery life. (Check to see if your utility offers a late nite or EV rate)

And, you’re sure you can avoid charging at more expensive public stations?

Do you sit “idling” much with ac or heat on? There was one article a few months ago hinting that was an issue for EDV’s.

I’d expect your state and local govt to start charging fees to make up for lost gas taxes. Smallish effect?


Impressive savings, before or after tax. Good luck. (Guessing you can depreciate the vehicle, but gas is a deductible expense, not sure how that works out)

These are all great questions. To be honest if I did this and had an R1S fleet I'd make heavy investments in solar that I know I would payback within 5 years (Long Island has expensive electricity). That can look like any number of configurations and I have a lot of ideas how to make it work, especially in the early days of getting started.

If I charged to 100% every day in an R1S based on what others have said about ride sharing on other sites I think a full days work and charging over night is going to be a-ok never having to public charge. The $.12 is the off-peak overnight charge rate in my area.

Charging to 100% isn't what Rivian wants, right? So I don't know what this will look like in reality. Perhaps getting started I'll drive the AM rush hour, come home, plug in for a few hours and go back out and be able to charge to 70% every day while I work at my own convenience. That would obviously mean peak charging for a few kWh @ $.22kWh.

Overall I see the opportunity as being able to come in there and make a ton more money per car for a limited time over companies still toting monster gas guzzlers. That could be leasing out R1S to ride share drivers during the day and doing weddings, funerals, etc. when possible. It could be any number of other things. Mainly it's a flexible business model with inventory I know I can sell quickly if nothing materializes in a long run with minimal loss.

Yeah.. I'm a bored professional.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Just speculating, I assume you’d be charging at home every nite to 100%? I’d want to understand how charging to 100% 260 days/year affects battery life.

Totally okay with the LFP batteries going into the standard battery pack. I wouldn't do it with the large pack chemistry though.

 

[nc10]

............ (Long Island has expensive electricity)
.....................The $.12 is the off-peak overnight charge rate in my area.
............................................ That would obviously mean peak charging for a few kWh @ $.22kWh.

Yikes. We have a $0.042/kwhr EV only nite time rate, but I have to agree to pay $0.15/kwhr if I charge during the day. (The normal rate is $0.095/kwhr if I don't sign up for the low nite time rate.)
I think it would cut a few years off my life if I had to drive in city/airport traffic all the time. You deserve more than $50-70k

 

[junkanoo]

I think it would cut a few years off my life if I had to drive in city/airport traffic all the time.

This.

 

[Bee]

Yikes. We have a $0.042/kwhr EV only nite time rate, but I have to agree to pay $0.15/kwhr if I charge during the day. (The normal rate is $0.095/kwhr if I don't sign up for the low nite time rate.)
I think it would cut a few years off my life if I had to drive in city/airport traffic all the time. You deserve more than $50-70k

Tell that to the rideshare companies that typically take most of the fare. I drove in a blizzard once and people were paying $30 surge fares that I was getting like $10 for with no tips.

I thought everyone tipped, it's more like 1/5th of rides tip. Tip your damn Uber drivers people, they hustle hard.

It's both a decent salary for what it is and not nearly enough to get by in NYC. Also, NYC is the exception for "decent" salaries, you can't pull in money like that if you're an hour outside of St. Louis nor can you bank on SUVs or premium rides making back more money then you put into them.

 

[Spiffster]

I am wondering if the R1S is going to be an Uber Black SUV eligible vehicle. If so, I may change my LE order to Black / Black. I do ride share on occasion nights some and weekends. This would also allow me to write it off as a commercial vehicle (Section 179 allowance).

 

[Zoidz]

These are all great questions. To be honest if I did this and had an R1S fleet I'd make heavy investments in solar that I know I would payback within 5 years (Long Island has expensive electricity). That can look like any number of configurations and I have a lot of ideas how to make it work, especially in the early days of getting started.

If I charged to 100% every day in an R1S based on what others have said about ride sharing on other sites I think a full days work and charging over night is going to be a-ok never having to public charge. The $.12 is the off-peak overnight charge rate in my area.

Charging to 100% isn't what Rivian wants, right? So I don't know what this will look like in reality. Perhaps getting started I'll drive the AM rush hour, come home, plug in for a few hours and go back out and be able to charge to 70% every day while I work at my own convenience. That would obviously mean peak charging for a few kWh @ $.22kWh.

Overall I see the opportunity as being able to come in there and make a ton more money per car for a limited time over companies still toting monster gas guzzlers. That could be leasing out R1S to ride share drivers during the day and doing weddings, funerals, etc. when possible. It could be any number of other things. Mainly it's a flexible business model with inventory I know I can sell quickly if nothing materializes in a long run with minimal loss.

Yeah.. I'm a bored professional.

If you have the space/real estate to put in a solar system, with Federal Tax credits on solar installations at 30% this year and greatly reduced electric costs, the numbers would look REALLY good.

 

[mgc0216]

i am not convinced you have the same storage in an R1S that you have in an ESV. Nor, as you mentioned, do you have as much cabin space.

If i book a luxury ride for six adults and we end up having to carry our bags on our laps, that's a deal breaker.

I just don't see the two vehicles being comparable enough for it to be like for like. I do think it's a great Uber Black for five people but not a great Uber XL (to use that comparison)

 

[swflorida]

I think you are making a mistake in saying that these are luxury vehicles. We don't know what rear leg room will be, no rear sunshades, no cooled rear seats, no additional head or b-pillar ventilation, no soft-close doors, no captains chairs, no ability to control media from the rear, no side step option (not sure if needed although you'd have to always remember to lower air suspension and assume it happens fast, which usually it doesn't), etc.

They are expensive and worth it for 1,000 reasons, but one of those reasons is not luxury.

 

[crashmtb]

i am not convinced you have the same storage in an R1S that you have in an ESV. Nor, as you mentioned, do you have as much cabin space.

If i book a luxury ride for six adults and we end up having to carry our bags on our laps, that's a deal breaker.

I just don't see the two vehicles being comparable enough for it to be like for like. I do think it's a great Uber Black for five people but not a great Uber XL (to use that comparison)

If I book anything for six adults with luggage, I’m expecting a van to show up.

The better move than an R1S would be a passenger version of RCV

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