Tesla drives towards $1-trillion club on 100,000 Hertz order

The cars will be delivered over the next 14 months

Tesla on Monday neared $1 trillion in market capitalisation as the company founded by Elon Musk received its biggest-ever order from Hertz, which announced plans to buy 100,000 electric rental cars.

 

Tesla shares opened up 4.5 per cent at $950.53, a new record high, following the order. Sha­res were also buoyed by news of the company's Model 3 becoming the first electric vehicle to top monthly sales of new cars in Europe.

 

The news from Hertz comes as Tesla is coping with a backlog of unfulfilled orders for its vehicles and continuing supply chain disruptions, but it does solidify the mainstream appeal of electric cars.

 

Interim Hertz Chief Executive Mark Fields in an interview told Reuters the order, delivered by the end of 2022, will primarily be Model 3 vehicles. Tesla vehicles will start being available at Hertz rental facilities in November.

 

"We absolutely believe that this is going to be competitive advantage for us," Fields said of the Tesla order. Hertz has around 430,000 to 450,000 vehicles worldwide, Fields said. Tesla would have to top $995.75 to become a company worth a trillion dollars, according to Reuters calculations based on its filing.