The money's actually coming from InMotion, Jaguar's "mobility services business," which will help the pair partner on autonomous research. As a sweetener, Lyft drivers will get some sweet rides, although it's not clear what sort of Jaguars and Land Rover vehicles will be available. The fact that JLR is a premium car maker and Lyft has just launched its own alternative to Uber Black might be useful information, too.

Jaguar Land Rover isn't the first company to hitch itself to Lyft's wagon, in stark contrast to the deal over at Uber. Whereas Travis Kalanick and co. like to swallow targets whole, Lyft has shaken hands with plenty of big players in the industry. The biggest partner has to be Waymo, Google's autonomous vehicle unit, but nuTonomy is another member of Lyft's rapidly-growing friend list. Perhaps that idiom about nice ride-sharing services always coming last isn't entirely accurate.