Hertz buys $4B+ worth of Teslas in a major bet on large-scale EV rentals

Going Ludicrous on the weekend… Car-rental giant Hertz is buying 100K Teslas for an estimated $4.2B, the biggest EV purchase ever. Hertz is paying full sticker price. Hertz said Tesla Model 3s would be available for rent early next month. Shares of both companies spiked 10% yesterday, and Tesla’s market cap hit $1T, putting the EV leader in the trillion-dollar club with Apple, Microsoft, Saudi Aramco, Google, and Amazon.

Hertz so good… Renting a Tesla for your weekend getaway requires less commitment than dropping $42K on a Model 3. The Hertz deal will give Tesla more exposure (rentals = test drives). And it could be a game changer for Hertz, which emerged from bankruptcy just four months ago.

• Rental-flation: Hertz liquidated 30% of its fleet when car prices were high, generating more cash on top of the nearly $6B in bankruptcy investments and $10B in loans.
• EV-olution: As gas prices rise and sustainability booms, Hertz could set itself apart from competitors with Teslas-for-rent. Hertz plans to attract EV-curious renters with its revamped fleet, which will be 20% electric when its Teslas arrive over the next year.
• If you’re not first... you may be last. Hertz’s mega-deal will suck up 10% of Tesla’s production capacity, making it hard for rivals Enterprise or Avis to copy its strategy.