10:48 16-07-2026
Chip Motors: a $15,000 electric microcar that parks itself with a remote driver
Miami startup Chip Motors is taking orders for a low-speed electric microcar that offers a remote-driver parking service called Chip Go!.
Miami-based startup Chip Motors has opened orders for the compact electric Chip, built for beach towns, gated communities, and short trips around the neighborhood. The four-seat soft-top version starts at $15,000. The six-seat version is priced at $18,000, before taxes and options.
The car falls under the U.S. low-speed vehicle category: top speed is capped at 25 mph, or about 40 km/h. Chip isn’t meant for highways or regular traffic — it’s built for short-distance city use.
A roughly 15 kWh battery promises up to 100 miles, or 161 km, of range. That efficiency comes from the low speed and light weight, though the figure is manufacturer-claimed and hasn’t been verified by independent testing. In-wheel motors power the car, and there’s an enclosed front trunk. Doors, body colors, a board rack, and other accessories will be sold separately.
The standout feature is called Chip Go!. After dropping off passengers, an owner can summon a remote operator who drives the empty car to a parking spot over a mobile connection. This isn’t autonomous driving: at this stage, a human pilots the car remotely, and the service will be sold in blocks of minutes or hours. The company says it will take responsibility during these remote sessions.
Down the line, the developers want to add Level 4 autonomy. For now, Chip has surround cameras and a front radar, but no lidar, and a production-ready self-driving mode hasn’t been confirmed. First deliveries of the U.S.-built vehicle are planned for 2027 in Florida.
Buyers should think of Chip not as a cheap substitute for a regular car, but as a safer alternative to a golf cart. How practical the remote-parking feature turns out to be will depend on connectivity, operator availability, and local permits; without it, owners are left with an ordinary slow city EV.