Four years ago, California startup Autonomy pledged to buy 23,000 EVs from 17 automakers, including Tesla, and make them available as part of a vehicle subscription service. It was a combination of two trends that had taken off in the early 2020s.
It didn’t work out.
Within a year, Autonomy was almost out of business, largely due to an EV price war started by Elon Musk, who was trying to keep Tesla competitive against a rush of new electric vehicles. Autonomy’s fleet, which had barely grown past 1,000 vehicles, lost around a third of its value. Founder Scott Painter (who also created TrueCar) had to more or less bail out the company while major automakers abandoned their own plans for vehicle subscriptions.
The startup has stayed alive, however, and it hasn’t given up on vehicle subscriptions. Instead, Autonomy said on Wednesday that it is adding internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to its fleet for the first time, and is betting the pivot towards a more familiar powertrain will bring in customers.
“If you’re going to be successful in anything, you’ve got to give the customer what the customer wants,” Autonomy’s CEO, Fred Weick, told TechCrunch in an exclusive interview. “There’s very few examples, I think, in history, of creating things customers didn’t know they wanted.”
The new lineup will feature gas-powered Ford vehicles like the Mustang, Ranger and F-150 pickups, as well as SUVs like the Bronco Sport, Escape and Explorer. Autonomy is sourcing the vehicles from Los Angeles-based Galpin Motors and making them available to customers in California. The company also operates in Arizona, Florida, Texas, New York, North Carolina and Washington, and said it will work with other dealer partners in these markets.
Autonomy is renewing its bet on vehicle subscriptions at a time when new car prices soar above $50,000. Used cars are getting more expensive, too.
Weick, who spent more than 20 years at Mercedes-Benz, said rising prices are making it harder for people with low credit scores — or no access to credit at all — to get a vehicle. His company charges a one-time fee (currently $1,000 for the EVs) and then a set price per month, which varies depending on the make and model. After one month, customers can cancel the subscription at any time.
Weick said Autonomy is targeting four types of customers with this push into ICE vehicles: university students, military families, foreign workers, and people who want a “company car” experience.
“The crux of the interest is easy and quick access to mobility without all the headaches that come with the old school” way of buying cars, he said. “The past [business] models were all about trying to fit a new concept into old shoes, and that doesn’t work.”
Weick said Autonomy is still seeing interest for EVs, especially in California. The company currently maintains a fleet of a little more than 500 electric cars, which is far from the 23,000 it had promised in 2022. But it’s hardly the only fleet company to have fumbled the transition. Hertz claimed in 2021 that it was going to buy as many as 100,000 Teslas (and more from other automakers), but wound up selling a majority of them in 2024 in favor of gas vehicles.
Facts Only
* Four years ago, Autonomy pledged to buy 23,000 EVs from 17 automakers, including Tesla, for a vehicle subscription service.
* Autonomy nearly went out of business within a year due to an EV price war started by Elon Musk.
* Autonomy's fleet lost about a third of its value.
* Founder Scott Painter had to stabilize the company while major automakers abandoned vehicle subscription plans.
* Autonomy is adding internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to its fleet for the first time.
* The new lineup includes gas-powered Ford vehicles (Mustang, Ranger, F-150) and SUVs (Bronco Sport, Escape, Explorer).
* Vehicles are sourced from Galpin Motors and made available in California.
* Autonomy operates in Arizona, Florida, Texas, New York, North Carolina, and Washington.
* The company offers a one-time fee ($1,000 for EVs) plus a monthly subscription fee with cancellation options.
* CEO Fred Weick noted that rising prices make vehicle access harder for those with low credit scores or no access to credit.
* Autonomy currently maintains a fleet of slightly more than 500 electric cars.
Executive Summary
Full Take
The narrative demonstrates a systemic failure in applying a static model—fitting a new concept into old shoes—when the underlying economic and logistical landscape shifts rapidly. The initial pivot toward high-value, exclusive EV subscriptions failed because it did not account for immediate market pressures like aggressive price wars or the credit constraints faced by potential customers. The subsequent pivot to ICE vehicles suggests an acknowledgment that accessibility and familiarity outweigh technological purity in certain segments, especially when facing soaring vehicle costs above $50,000. This move re-frames the problem from one of pure technology adoption to one of equitable mobility access. The focus on specific demographic segments (students, military families) indicates a recognition that general consumer demand is fractured; successful models must cater to specific constraints rather than broad generalizations. The comparison with Hertz’s retreat from the EV goal highlights a pattern where large entities abandon ambitious transitions when faced with immediate financial headwinds. The core tension lies in whether optimizing for immediate customer friction (easy access vs. future-forward tech) provides a more resilient strategy than pursuing a pure, long-term vision that ignores current economic realities.
The implications suggest that future success in mobility services depends less on the powertrain technology and more on solving fundamental problems of financial inclusion and transactional friction across diverse user bases. What are the underlying assumptions about consumer patience versus immediate financial relief that drive these strategic shifts? How do market forces—such as the cost of credit and vehicle acquisition—redefine the acceptable trade-offs between innovation and service delivery when designing mobility solutions?
Sentinel — Human
The text reads like standard business journalism, effectively presenting a narrative arc about strategic pivots based on real-world events and direct stakeholder commentary.