Quote:
Originally Posted by Mikemike
The average vehicles requires far more energy to run in it's lifetime than it takes to manufacture. While that may change with electric vehicles, vehicle lifetime is just a related to mileage as to age - if these auto-vehicles are driving more miles they could actually provide less actual transportation over a lifespan. And if they're shared, users may take less care than they do with their own vehicles.
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It should also be noted that autonomous cars use energy more efficiently than a human driver does to go the same distance. Not enough to compensate for a return trip, but more efficiently nonetheless.
This is why Tesla is working so hard on its autopilot feature. It isn't a luxury feature, it's a range issue. In autopilot, the electric car's range will be significantly farther than if a human were driving, and range is the selling point for Teslas.