Uber announced early Wednesday that Hertz, which just ordered 100,000 Teslas, will supply half of that fleet by 2023 to Uber drivers who want to rent the cars.
According to an agreement between the ride-hailing firm and Hertz, Uber drivers in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and Washington, DC, will be able to rent Tesla vehicles starting from November 1.
Hertz announced Monday that it had ordered 100,000 vehicles from Tesla, thought to be the largest single order the carmaker has received to date. The announcement sent shares of Tesla skyrocketing Monday. The agreement aims to have all 50,000 vehicles available for hire by 2023.
The company said Tesla rentals will start out at $334 a week, excluding taxes and fees, but pricing will decrease to $299 or lower over time. Initially, the company will require drivers have at least a 4.7-star rating and a minimum of 150 trips.
Hertz on Wednesday also announced a separate partnership with online used-car dealer Carvana Co, whose shares rose 3% in morning trade. Under the agreement, Hertz would reduce its reliance on mass auctions to offload used rental fleet vehicles and instead sell vehicles directly to consumers through Carvana’s sales channels.
Hertz added that while this partnership is a step forward to advance electrification on the Uber platform, it’s important to note that owning an electric vehicle is still too often more expensive than a traditional gas-powered vehicle.
Wednesday’s deal represents Uber’s most significant step so far in expanding the use of EVs on its platform. The company has vowed to operate only electric vehicles on its United States, Canadian and European platform by 2030, and worldwide by 2040.
The initial 100,000-car order is equivalent to about 10% of what the automaker can currently produce in a year, Bloomberg reported, which might help Hertz prevent rivals from replicating the strategy.
The partnership with Uber comes on the back of a big week for Tesla. The deal with Hertz, which will bring in a reported $4.2 billion for Tesla, is the largest-ever purchase of electric vehicles, Bloomberg previously reported.
