Elon Musk: Tesla deal with Hertz not signed

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said late Monday that the automaker has not yet signed a deal with Hertz, despite the car rental service announcing last week it had reached an agreement to buy 100,000 Teslas by the end of next year.

“If any of this is based on Hertz, I’d like to emphasize that no contract has been signed yet,” Musk said on Twitter in response to a tweet about Telsa stock prices.

“Tesla has far more demand than production, therefore we will only sell cars to Hertz for the same margin as to consumers,” he added.

You’re welcome!

If any of this is based on Hertz, I’d like to emphasize that no contract has been signed yet.

Tesla has far more demand than production, therefore we will only sell cars to Hertz for the same margin as to consumers.

Hertz deal has zero effect on our economics.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 1, 2021

In a statement to The Hill on Tuesday, Hertz doubled down, saying the deal with Tesla is already moving forward.

“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,” a company spokesperson said. “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.”

When Hertz announced the deal for 100,000 Teslas on Oct. 25, Tesla did not provide an announcement of its own, The Wall Street Journal reported. 

The Hill has reached out to Tesla for comment. 

After Musk’s tweet Monday, Tesla and Hertz shares fell on Tuesday by 4 percent and 9 percent, respectively.

People familiar with the situation told the Journal last week the deal took months to work out, with Tesla not giving Hertz any discounts for the bulk purchase. 

After the Hertz announcement, Tesla become the fifth company to reach a $1 trillion evaluation.