$15K electric 'LUV' promises to park and drive itself home

A new EV startup is betting that more people will choose a right-sized family vehicle for everyday trips in and around their neighborhoods. That includes trips without anyone in the car.Miami, Florida-based Chip Motors' first product – named Chip – is basically a compact electric car that maxes out at 25 mph (40 km/h), and can seat four or six people, depending on the seat configuration you choose.That allows it to occupy a slot in the US' low-speed vehicle (LSV) category, which accommodates four-wheelers on roads with a 35-mph (56-km/h) or lower speed limit, provided you've got a valid driver's license, a license plate, and are wearing a seat belt. Meet Chip - The Friendly Life Utility Vehicle Promising a 100-mile (160-km) range, Chip is labeled a "life utility vehicle" that's suitable for short trips close to home, like school runs, sports practice, grocery stores, and the local beach or lake.With a tallboy stance, round headlamps, and a large dot-matrix LED grille that can display a range of expressions, this EV has a quirky appearance that should appeal to fans of retro styling. You can get a Chip with an open-to-the-sky frame, a soft top, or an enclosed body so it's suitable for different kinds of weather. You can get the front hood fitted with a TV and speakers for partying outdoorsChip Motors Chip hopes owners will find the EV useful for all kinds of lifestyle activities. To that end, the frunk is said to be large enough to fit a stroller, and you can even opt to have a flip-up TV and speakers replace the front hood. There's room for a surfboard to be side-mounted, and the enclosed body's roof can support a bike rack.The car also comes with a novel and potentially polarizing feature. Its Chip Go remote driving service has a human driver operate the car remotely; it allows parking, picking someone up, and even running errands like collecting a package of groceries. If you're at the beach and someone else needs the car, you can have Chip's remote service pilot it home without a driver behind the wheelChip Motors That's called teleoperation, and we've seen this power some capabilities in humanoid robots that are set to become available in the next year. In those cases, teleoperation raises concerns about privacy and preventing abuse of the ability to see into a robot owner's personal spaces. Chip Go negates this by only being available when the car's empty – but how does it guarantee safety for pedestrians on these routes, and who's legally liable in case of an accident? Chip Motors' cofounder Jameson Detweiler told InsideEVs the company will accept full legal liability during teleoperated driving, though how the remote system handles unexpected pedestrian behavior remains a key safety question.We've written to ask about this (along with what this will cost), but in the meantime, I feel like I'd be more comfortable with Chip implementing LIDAR and/or camera-based autonomous driving tech instead of tagging in a human miles away.What I'm more enthusiastic about though, is the fact that this presents families with a sensible option for daily rides without the footprint of a Panzer. Chip can seat four or six passengers, and can be configured with an enclosed body styleChip Motors Chip starts at US$15,000, which is about half what you'd pay for a new Nissan Leaf. It's got more evenly matched competition in the LSV segment in the form of the Wink Mark3. The more conventional-looking hatchback seats four, offers AC and heating, a 4-speaker sound system, and 85 miles (137 km) of range for just under $18,000.For its part, Chip Motors expects to begin delivering its cars starting in 2027. You can reserve one now with a $250 deposit on the company's site.Source: Chip Motors