Vehicle Subscription Firm Autonomy Teams Up With Equifax

Tesla, Autonomy, Equifax, subscription commerce

Digital vehicle subscription service Autonomy has launched a partnership with Equifax to use the credit bureau’s InstaTouch identity and authentication tool, allowing customers to subscribe using their smartphones.

The collaboration, announced in a news release Friday (March 11), lets consumers subscribe in as fast as 10 minutes. It follows Autonomy’s launch in January, when it unveiled its Tesla Model 3 Vehicle subscription program in California.

“Consistent with our mission to deliver the cheapest, fastest and easiest way to get a Tesla Model 3, and to make access to electric vehicles easy and affordable, Equifax has enabled us to deliver on a 100% mobile and digital experience for consumers in 10 minutes,” said Scott Painter, CEO and founder of Autonomy.

Learn more: Startup Debuts Tesla Subscription Service in California with 100 Model 3s

The company said it will soon expand geographically and offer subscriptions for other electric vehicles. Autonomy’s subscription model lets customers pay a monthly fee and start fee that covers the cost of the vehicle subscription, routine maintenance costs, roadside assistance and – eventually – auto insurance.

Equifax InstaTouch uses differentiated and alternative data sources to authenticate a consumer’s identity, allowing for pre-population of consumer data during the application.

With the Tesla partnership, Autonomy said it hopes to offer 10,000 of the electric vehicles by the end of the year.

Related: Tesla’s Latest Boost And Automotive Subscriptions’ Shifting Future

The Tesla subscription service starts at $550 a month, but people who pay that price also must pay a $5,500 “start fee,” higher than a deposit on a base Model 3 lease with Tesla.

In July, Tesla launched its subscription service for a self-driving car package, which adds a number of features for self-driving cars, including navigating on autopilot and auto-park.