Tesla hits $1 trillion market cap
When business and leisure travel came to a grinding halt at the beginning of the pandemic, car rental companies sold off a lot of their inventory. If you’ve been on vacation or a business trip recently and noticed it was tough or exorbitantly expensive to get a rental car. That’s why. Not quite 18 months removed from filing for bankruptcy protection, Hertz is rebuilding its fleet. It’s looking to go green, too, placing an order of 100,000 electric vehicles from Tesla. The $4.2 billion purchase makes it the largest order for EVs to date. Tesla shares were up more than 4% on the news, pushing it above a $1 trillion market cap for the first time.
“Electric vehicles are now mainstream, and we’ve only just begun to see rising global demand and interest,” Hertz interim CEO Mark Fields said. “The new Hertz is going to lead the way as a mobility company, starting with the largest EV rental fleet in North America and a commitment to grow our EV fleet and provide the best rental and recharging experience for leisure and business customers around the world.”
Starting in November, renters will be able to pick up a Tesla Model 3 at Hertz locations in major U.S. markets and select European cities. Hertz will also add charging stations to its global network, ensuring customers will be able to go as far as they need without worrying about running out of juice.
The addition will mean that EVs account for more than 20% of the global Hertz fleet, and the company plans to have fast charging stations in 65 markets by the end of 2022 and more than 100 markets by the end of 2023.
Investors led by Knighthead Capital Management and Certares Management bailed Hertz out for about $6 billion and have the company poised to convert most of its 500,000-strong fleet to electric, Bloomberg reports.
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