Elon Musk says 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.
Last week, shares in Tesla jumped 12.6% after Hertz said it had ordered 100,000 vehicles by the end of 2022.
However, Mr Musk tweeted: “I’d like to emphasize that no contract has been signed yet.”
Yet Hertz told the BBC: “Deliveries of the Teslas already have started.”
A spokeswoman said: “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.”
Hertz refused to confirm if a contract had or had not been signed with Tesla in light of Mr Musk’s tweet, adding it did not discuss details of its business relationships or discussions.
Major deal
The deal announced last week by Hertz with Tesla was the biggest-ever rental car order for electric vehicles.
“Electric vehicles are now mainstream, and we’ve only just begun to see rising global demand and interest,” said Hertz interim boss Mark Fields.ADVERTISEMENT
It was reported Hertz would pay $4.2bn 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 at certain areas in the US and Europe.