Ars Technica:

On Thursday night, Tesla announced the new Model X and Model S electric vehicles will now come with the necessary hardware to allow them to drive completely autonomously at a future point in time. But buried in the notes about this new functionality there was also a warning to future Tesla owners: don’t expect to be able to use your EV driving for Uber, Lyft, or any other ride-sharing service that isn’t owned by Tesla.

On Tesla’s website, the section that describes the new “Full Self-Driving Capability” (A $3,000 option at the time of purchase, $4,000 after the fact) states “Please note also that using a self-driving Tesla for car sharing and ride hailing for friends and family is fine, but doing so for revenue purposes will only be permissible on the Tesla Network, details of which will be released next year.”

I find this fascinating. Is it even legal for Tesla to limit how you can use your own vehicle? I’ve been told it isn’t but that Tesla could, conceivably, void your warranty if you do. Regardless, how Tesla would or could detect the ride-sharing activity is interesting in and of itself.