Car Subscription Startup Autonomy Will Offer Tesla’s Model 3

Autonomy—the Santa Monica-based automobile subscription platform until recently known as NextCar—is getting into electric vehicles via Tesla’s popular Model 3.

The startup, which provides customers monthly vehicle subscriptions for an all-in price that includes insurance and maintenance costs, said Thursday that it will offer the Tesla Model 3 as part of a range of electric and zero-emission vehicles. The company was launched in 2020 by former TrueCar CEO Scott Painter, and is currently in beta.

NextCar rebranded as Autonomy late last year after acquiring the defunct Hewlett-Packard software brand and its intellectual property. Having recently raised $83 million in debt and equity financing, Autonomy is now ramping up its push to market by including the best-selling electric car in history.

Autonomy customers will be able to subscribe to a Model 3 for a three-month minimum term, and then on a month-to-month basis afterward. Fees range anywhere from $550 per month (with a $5,500 start fee) to up to $1,000 per month (with a $1,000 start fee), plus a $500 security deposit. The service will initially be available only in California.

“Electric vehicles have reached a tipping point, and it’s clear that the Tesla Model 3 is this generation’s [Toyota] Prius,” Painter, who serves as Autonomy’s CEO, said in a statement. He said Autonomy’s subscription model is meant to appeal to consumers in an era when “financial responsibility and the avoidance of debt” has prompted many to reconsider purchasing a car.

The startup also pitches an easy-to-use user experience enabled through its mobile app; it says customers can order a vehicle in only 10 minutes by providing their driver’s license and payment information, while the process of picking up the car or getting it delivered to them should take no more than 20 minutes. They can also manage their subscription through Autonomy’s mobile app.

Autonomy isn’t the only way drivers can get their hands on a Tesla short-term. In October, Hertz announced that Teslas would comprise more than 20% of its rental car fleet by the end of 2022 after it ordered more than 100,000 vehicles from the Elon Musk-led automaker. The news saw Tesla’s market capitalization surge above $1 trillion.