Tesloop's initial vehicle has already gone more than 250,000 miles since it hit the road in 2015 — all of those miles on Goodyear tires, the companies said.
Ultimately, Goodyear hopes to use advanced analytics and cloud-based machine learning to develop new models that will help it predict tire wear and potentially guide future engineering.
Tesloop operates both Tesla's four-door S and gull-wing X models, fitted with the Eagle RS-A2 and Eagle F1 Asymmetric, respectively, Goodyear said.
on Model X. Both are all-wheel drive and seat up to seven passengers.
"Leveraging our deep knowledge and experience in tire design, testing and fleet operations, our goal is to ensure that we can offer the most innovative range of tire-related technologies and services for the next generation of connected passenger mobility fleets," Jim Euchner, vice president of global innovation at Goodyear, said in announcing the agreement.
"Tesloop's leadership in the utilization of semi-autonomous, connected, electric cars gives us insights today into the next generation of mobility, where driving vehicles 250,000 miles a year may be a common occurrence," he said.
For its part, Tesloop thinks it's part of a continuing trend. People might own fewer cars in the future, but by driving shared cars more miles will save money, it contends.
"Over the next few years, we believe that all leading passenger mobility services will migrate to autonomous, electric, supercharged vehicle platforms," Tesloop CEO Rahul Sonnad said.
"This will drastically lower the cost of car transportation, increase miles driven and enable cars to run nearly 24 hours every day."
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Dan Shingler is a reporter with Crain's Cleveland Business.
