Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said the electric car company has not yet signed a deal with Hertz, despite an announcement last month that the company was ordering 100,000 Teslas.
“I’d like to emphasize that no contract has been signed yet,” Musk tweeted Monday. “Tesla has far more demand than production, therefore we will only sell cars to Hertz for the same margin as to consumers. Hertz deal has zero effect on our economics.”
In October, Hertz said it ordered 100,000 Teslas to be delivered to the rental-car company by the end of next year, a deal that promised to expose more drivers to the electric car’s technology.
After Musk’s tweet, however, a Hertz spokeswoman stood by the company’s earlier announcement and that deliveries have already begun.
“As we announced last week, Hertz has made an initial order of 100,000 Tesla electric vehicles and is investing in new EV charging infrastructure across the company’s global operations,” the spokeswoman said, per the Wall Street Journal. “We are seeing very strong early demand for Teslas in our rental fleet, which reflects market demand for Tesla vehicles.”
In the initial announcement, Hertz said it was partnering with NFL superstar Tom Brady to promote Tesla’s electric vehicle campaign.
Following the Hertz announcement, both Tesla and Hertz stocks soared.
