Hertz released a press release last week indicating that Hertz had ordered 100,000 Tesla Model 3s to be part of its rental fleet. Gizmodo reported that Elon Musk tweeted late yesterday that the order was far from final and that no contract had been signed.
Hertzs announced that it had made a substantial investment to provide the largest EV rental fleet [which includes an initial order for 100,000 Teslas by 2022] and other positive news about European sales may have motivated investors.
Hertz was only able to emerge from bankruptcy four months ago, after being bought by Knighthead Capital Management and others for $6 billion. As such, the announcement of a purchase for 100,000 EVs worth around $4.2 billion raised eyebrows.
Gizmodo noted that Hertz did not sign a contract or purchase order. An initial order of 100,000 Teslas could mean that the order is complete and the vehicles will be delivered by 2022. Tesla did not respond to the initial news.
Musk's tweet was in response to the Tesla Silicon Valley Club Twitter account, which thanked him for Teslas recent stock price increase. Musk seemed to be trying to reduce some of the hype by stating that any Hertz deal would not have an impact on sales or bottom line.
Tesla is in far greater demand than its production. Therefore, we will sell Tesla cars to Hertz at the same margin as consumers. Hertz deal has zero effect on our economics.
Editor's Note: This article first appeared on Engadget.
