TLCMKT News (09.22.20): COVID Upticks Seen In NYC, Uber for Business Introduces Commuting Options for COVID, Uber & Lyft Could Gain From Rule On Employment, Elon Musk Promises $25,000 Tesla

Select TLCMKT news headlines for Tuesday, September 22nd 2020.

Photo Credit: Jon Tyson

Coronavirus Upticks Seen In 6 NYC Neighborhoods, Mayor Says (Patch)

• Six neighborhoods — Borough Park, Far Rockaway, Flatbush, Kew Gardens, Midwood and Williamsburg — will be the focus of a city-run "hyper-local effort" that increases testing and outreach efforts.

• All six neighborhoods have positive test rates near or above 2 percent, with Borough Park topping the entire city with 3 percent. 

• Link to story

Uber for Business introduces a couple of commuting options to get the the office during the pandemic (Tech Crunch)

• Uber is introducing Employee Group Rides, which involves two employees in the same area sharing an Uber for the purpose of getting to or from work. 

• Another Business option is called Business Charter which involves Uber connecting customers to a third-party fleet partner, who can pick up multiple employees and bring them to the office.

  “A company can come and create a commute program with Uber across sedans, SUVs, vans and buses, and based on the employee base and commuting data, it might order 20 sedans and X number of our [larger] vehicles, and decide how to deploy them — and we can do that, and those vehicles will only accept rides from that employer.” - Ronnie Gurion, Global Head at Uber for Business

• Link to story

Uber and Lyft Could Gain From U.S. Rule Defining Employment (NY Times)

• The Labor Department on Tuesday announced a proposal that could deem millions of janitors, construction workers and gig workers to be contractors rather than employees.

• The proposal is a so-called interpretive rule, not a regulation that has the force of law. But it could have significant influence were it to be finalized.

• Link to story

Elon Musk promises $25,000 Tesla and says Model S 'Plaid' is coming soon (CNN)

• Elon Musk promised a $25,000 Tesla EV that would be available in three years and made possible by manufacturing and design improvements, making the battery cheaper.

• Tesla is also taking orders now for the Tesla Model S with "Plaid Mode," a version capable of going from 0 to 60mph in under two seconds.

• Link to story

The TLCMKT Newsletter is written by Dawood Mian, Founder & CEO of TLCMKT. I cover the NYC ridehailing industry and related news. Search TLCMKT for TLC cars, parts, service, accessories, professional services, reviews & more. Find great deals at TLCMKT.COM.