Hertz says it’s already receiving Teslas; doesn’t address Musk tweet

Hertz Global Holdings said it’s already receiving cars under its plan to add 100,000 Tesla electric vehicles through 2022, without responding directly to a market-moving tweet from billionaire Elon Musk that said there’s been no signed contract between the companies yet.

The rental-car company unveiled its EV initiative last week, a deal with potential to change the industry and speed consumers’ adoption of EVs. Shares of Tesla fell in early trading Tuesday after Musk, its chief executive officer, tweeted there was no contract yet and reiterated that Hertz wouldn’t get any special pricing.

“As we announced last week, Hertz has made an initial order of 100,000 Tesla electric vehicles and is investing in new EV charging infrastructure across the company’s global operations,” Hertz said in an emailed statement Tuesday. “Deliveries of the Teslas already have started. We are seeing very strong early demand for Teslas in our rental fleet, which reflects market demand for Tesla vehicles.”

Hertz, which trades over the counter ahead of a re-listing on the Nasdaq Stock Market, climbed 38 per cent through Monday since Bloomberg News first reported the Tesla-rental plan on October 25. The plan has pushed up the Estero, Florida-based rental company’s market valuation to about $16.1bn — just four months out of bankruptcy.

In his Monday night tweet, Musk said that because Tesla has demand for more vehicles than it can produce, the deal with Hertz “has zero effect on our economics.”

Tesla shares slumped as much as 6.9 per cent before the start of regular trading Tuesday, after soaring 56 per cent during the past month to give the EV-maker a market valuation above $1 trillion.