Tesla says Hertz did not get any discount – paid full retail – for its electric rental fleet
Tesla boss Elon Musk has hit out at claims Hertz received a substantial discount to buy 100,000 electric cars.
Car rental giant Hertz reportedly paid full retail prices – and did not get any fleet discount or incentives – for its landmark order of 100,000 Tesla electric cars.
Tesla boss Elon Musk has hit out at claims Hertz received special discount in the deal which helped drive the electric-car company's stock market value beyond $US1 trillion.
On Twitter overnight Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, said: “Cars sold to Hertz have no discount. Same price as to consumers.”
This is despite most car manufacturers offering a 5 to 15 per cent discount on fleet purchases.
Assuming all vehicles ordered are the entry-level rear-wheel drive variant – which is priced from $US45,490 in the United States – the deal was therefore worth an estimated $US4.6 billion ($AU6.2 billion).
If the $US51,490 dual-motor long-range option was selected, the figure could be as high as $US5.15 billion ($AU6.8 billion).
The recent order – which represents the equivalent of 20 per cent of all its sales globally last year – is a huge boost for the brand, and the value of its stocks increased by approximately 5 per cent in the hours following the announcement (exceeding the $US1 trillion mark for the first time).
The first rental Tesla’s are slated at Hertz retail outlets in Europe and the USA by the end of this year, with bulk deliveries expected in 2022.
A small fleet of Tesla cars are currently being trialed by Hertz Australia in Canberra and Adelaide, however the company is yet to commit to a wider electric vehicle presence locally.