NYC gets its first Tesla Model 3 yellow cab, hundreds more to follow

Colored in the classic yellow cab style, the streets of New York City embrace its first electric taxi none other than the glorious Tesla Model 3.

Ride-hailing service, Drive Sally has launched its first Tesla Model 3 yellow cab in the metro and the company is planning to bring hundreds and thousands more on the roads of NYC in the near future, the company stated in a tweet.

In one of the tweets, the official company account asked Elon Musk if they can get 1,000 more Model 3 electric cars to deploy as yellow cabs. Tesla CEO hasn’t responded yet but it is totally possible at the current Model 3 production rate at the automaker’s Fremont factory.

Dispatching tonight. First NYC Tesla Taxi. Can we get 1,000 more @elonmusk @Tesla? pic.twitter.com/ZEEaDju8wa
— Sally (@drive_sally) October 30, 2020

The City of New York approved Tesla Model 3 as the first electric taxicab last year and Drive Sally is the first company to make it happen practically. Bringing electric taxis to the city is also part of lowering the NYC carbon emissions initiative and Tesla EVs are here to achieve this goal.

Tesla Model 3 yellow cab outside the Drive Sally garage in NYC.

According to Business Insider, Drive Sally is running its first trial Tesla Model 3 cab only in one shift, the car is charged at the company’s garage overnight. As drivers are getting acquainted with the Tesla Model 3, some of them are having range anxiety issues even after just driving it for 50 miles or so.

However, with the new 250 kW V3 Superchargers, the Tesla Model 3 can be charged to around 80% in roughly half an hour. For a Standard Range Model 3, that’s around 210 miles of range, pretty good for the next set of a few inter-city trips.

Tesla Model 3 yellow cab charging at the Drive Sally garage. Source: Drive Sally via Business Insider.

Tesla Model 3 yellow cab on the streets of NYC. Source: u/OrbitalATK via Tesla Subreddit.

According to an estimate, electric taxicabs charged from an average grid load zone, emit 17,080 lbs of CO₂ per car per year. On the contrary, an internal combustion taxi emits an estimated 54,992 lbs of CO₂ per car per year which is a staggering +221% more than the EV cabs.

As Tesla is making good progress in its Autopilot Full Self-Driving program lately, who knows how far in the future is Elon Musk‘s Robotaxi dream, the ultimate disruptor in how ride-hailing works today.