American mobility company Uber announced on Wednesday that Rental company Hertz will supply 50 percent of its order of 100,000 Tesla cars to Uber drivers who want to rent the cars. Following the announcement, Shares of Tesla closed up 1.9 percent while that of Uber closed down 2.8 percent.
The decision follows Hertz order of 100,000 Tesla vehicles, an order that raised the market capitalization of electric vehicle company Tesla to $1 trillion. Hertz made an order of 100,000 electric vehicles to build out its electric vehicle rental fleet by the end of 2022 and the deal is the largest-ever purchase of electric vehicles. According to a Bloomberg report, the cars are slated for delivery within the next 14 months and will be available to customers in the U.S. and parts of Europe as early as November. The order will likely make up a significant portion of Tesla’s vehicles to be manufactured and delivered over the next 14 months.
According to Uber, the deal is a strategic one. It will offer drivers a way to increase their earnings as they’d be saving a lot of gas costs and it completely aligns with the company’s zero-emissions goals. From Monday, Uber drivers can rent 2021 Tesla Model 3 cars through the rental program provided by Hertz. Drivers in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., San Francisco and San Diego will be able to rent the aforementioned Tesla model on Monday while a nationwide expansion will follow in the imminent weeks.
Uber said that the rentals on Hertz Teslas will begin at $334 a week, with the exclusion of fees and tax and promises that the pricing will drop to $299, or even lesser as time goes on. The company also said that initially, only drivers with at least a 4.7-star rating and a minimum of 150 trips can make these rentals.
Uber’s Senior Vice President, in a statement, said that “while this partnership is a step forward to advance electrification on the Uber platform, it’s important to note that owning an electric vehicle is still too often more expensive than a traditional gas-powered vehicle”.
