After hearing complaints about this problem, Uber is sending Tesla riders a special push notification with instructions on how to open the door. The ride-hailing company is also promoting an instructional video on its social media channels (check out the tweet below). Uber has been offering rides in electric vehicles via its Comfort Electric promotion, which it launched in May in a few cities. Users can simply push a button in the Uber app to request a ride in a premium EV, such as a Tesla, Polestar, or a Ford Mustang Mach-E. SEE: The best electric cars of 2022 On Tuesday, Uber is expanding the Comfort Electric offering to seven additional cities. It’s now available in Las Vegas, Seattle, Portland, Denver, Austin, Philadelphia, Baltimore, San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles. However, not many Uber drivers own their own EVs – they are still generally more expensive than a traditional gas-powered vehicle. To address that hurdle, Uber teamed up with Hertz. Back in October of last year, when Hertz signed a $4.2 billion deal with Tesla for 100,000 electric vehicles, Hertz also agreed to make up to 50,000 Teslas available for Uber drivers to rent by 2023. The deal still stands as the largest expansion of EVs on a mobility platform in North America, according to Uber. Already, more than 15,000 drivers have rented a Tesla through the program. Collectively, they’ve completed more than 5 million fully-electric trips.
