Lyft and Tensor Aim to Offer Consumers ‘Lyft-Ready’ Autonomous Vehicles by 2027

Beginning in 2027, some consumers may be able to buy an autonomous vehicle, use it when they need it, and let it go to work at a rideshare network when they don’t need it.

That scenario is part of a planned partnership announced in a Thursday (Oct. 9) press release by global mobility platform Lyft and personal autonomous vehicle developer Tensor.

Tensor recently unveiled its personal Robocar, an autonomous vehicles designed for private ownership, and the company plans to launch these vehicles in select markets across the United States, Europe and the United Arab Emirates by the end of 2026, according to the release.

Under the planned partnership, the Tensor Robocar will be made “Lyft-ready” by the manufacturer so that it can be immediately onboarded to the Lyft platform and deployed in the rideshare network by its consumer owner, the release said.

The companies plan to launch the first of these “Lyft-ready” vehicles in 2027, per the release.

In addition, Lyft, through its affiliates, has reserved hundreds of these vehicles for its own fleet, according to the release.

“Future owners will be able to start earning on the Lyft network the moment their vehicle rolls off the lot, while riders get access to some of the most advanced and luxurious AVs on the road,” Jeremy Bird, executive vice president of driver experience at Lyft, said in the release. “This is exactly the kind of innovation that expands what’s possible in transportation.”

Hugo Fozzati, chief business officer at Tensor, said in the release that the planned partnership will let Lyft passengers experience autonomous vehicles and enable Tensor Robocar owners to immediately start earning on the Lyft network.

“By allowing your Tensor to operate as a vehicle on the Lyft platform when you’re not using it, you can effortlessly generate revenue,” Fozzati said.

PYMNTS reported in August that Lyft is buying, partnering and piloting its way into new territories, modes and (eventually) driverless cars.

During the company’s second quarter earnings call, Lyft reported that it has several autonomous vehicle initiatives underway and that, together with its fleet management technology, Flexdrive, it will be ready to orchestrate a mixed human-driver and autonomous fleet at scale.