Hertz to supply 50,000 Teslas to Uber drivers – to start with
Hertz will provide 50,000 of the 100,000 electric cars ordered from Tesla to Uber drivers in the United States. Starting on 1 November, drivers can rent Teslas from Hertz through the new program in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Washington, D.C., so the company.
Hertz added, a nationwide expansion would follow in the coming weeks. Hertz will kick off the program by providing up to 50,000 vehicles by 2023 exclusively to Uber drivers. Uber and Hertz have been working together since 2016 to offer discounted car rental options.
The Tesla rental terms are not clear from Hertz’s announcement. “Participating drivers receive a preferred weekly rate for Hertz rentals, which includes insurance, basic maintenance and unlimited miles,” the company states.
Hertz further claims this was “the best deal available in the market today” for drivers looking to rent a Tesla. In addition, the company points out advantages any Tesla offers, including gas savings, higher earnings potential, access to the Tesla Supercharger network and, in the case of Uber, exclusive EVgo discounts and other financial benefits through Uber’s Green Future program. Through the latter, drivers can receive a dollar more per ride for chauffeuring customers in an electric car.
“Over the next 3 years, this could grow to 150,000 #Teslas that can be provided by Hertz to #Uber.”
Mark Fields, Interim CEO @Hertz and @Uber CEO @dkhos talk EV adoption & building charging capacity.
Plus, no self-driving options included for now! 🚘
Part 2 | @firstmove pic.twitter.com/G40TCDCMAd
— Julia Chatterley (@jchatterleyCNN) October 27, 2021
“Today’s partnership with Uber is another major step forward in Hertz becoming an essential component of the modern mobility ecosystem and executing on our commitment to being an environmentally forward company,” said Mark Fields, Hertz interim CEO. His counterpart, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, echoed the statement saying, “This combines the power of Tesla, Hertz and Uber to help accelerate the transition to zero-emissions mobility. We look forward to seeing more EVs on the road right away.”
And they could. Hertz and Uber already projected that the program could expand to 150,000 Teslas during the next three years if successful. Hertz, however, pointed out that these ambitions could be affected by factors outside of its control, such as semiconductor chip shortages or other constraints, thus repeating earlier concerns by Elon Musk. The Tesla boss had been surprised by the market’s positive reaction to the initial order placed on Monday. Worth billions, it had triggered further hype around Tesla on the stock market. As a result, the company cracked the one trillion dollar stock market value mark. Musk had described the process as “strange” because Tesla does not have a demand problem but cannot keep up with production.
Hertz had announced its most significant EV investment on Monday, including said initial order of 100,000 Teslas – mostly Model 3 – by the end of 2022 and new EV charging infrastructure across its global operations. According to the current announcement, if 50,000 Tesla will go to the Uber program and 50,000 to Hertz rental stations, an expansion to 150,000 Teslas for Uber, as indicated, could equate to another order of 100,000 vehicles – or possibly more if Hertz would also expand the end-user rental fleet.
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