Musk says Tesla has not signed deal with Hertz

San Francisco, Nov 3 (IANS) Tech billionaire Elon Musk said no contract has been signed with Hertz after the rental car company announced a deal that led to Tesla's market value surpassing $1 trillion, media reports say.

According to BBC, last week shares in Tesla jumped 12.6 per cent after Hertz said it had ordered 100,000 vehicles by the end of 2022. "I'd like to emphasize that no contract has been signed yet," the Tesla CEO tweeted. Meanwhile, Hertz told BBC that deliveries of the Teslas have already started.

"As we announced last week, Hertz has made an initial order of 100,000 Tesla electric vehicles and is investing in new EV (electric vehicle) charging infrastructure across the company's global operations," a spokeswoman was quoted as saying. Hertz refused to confirm if a contract had or had not been signed with Tesla in the light of Musk's tweet, adding it did not discuss details of its business relationships or discussions.

The deal announced last week by Hertz with Tesla was the biggest-ever rental car order for electric vehicles, as per the report. "Electric vehicles are now mainstream, and we've only just begun to see rising global demand and interest," said Hertz interim boss Mark Fields. It was reported Hertz would pay $4.2 billion for 100,000 Model 3s over the next 14 months, which amounts to about a fifth of its fleet. The rental firm would also build a network of charging stations.

Hertz said that "beginning in early November and expanding through year end" customers would be able to rent a Tesla Model 3 at Hertz airport and neighbourhood locations in certain areas in the US and Europe.