Following several reports of a massive business deal between Hertz and Tesla, Elon Musk has decided to clear the air by announcing that Tesla has not signed a contract with the car rental service yet.
Earlier this week, he tweeted that “If any of this is based on Hertz, I’d like to emphasize that no contract has been signed yet”.
Musk added that the news about the deal with the rental car company, or the actual deal itself, has “zero effect” on the market valuation or the general financial position of the company due to the high demand for Tesla’s electric vehicles (EVs) in several markets around the world.
Ironically, Tesla’s market share has plummeted by four percent after Musk’s update.
Contrary to Tesla’s statements, Hertz added that the deliveries of Tesla vehicles have already begun. It said in a statement: “We are seeing very strong early demand for Teslas in our rental fleet, which reflects market demand for Tesla vehicles”.
The news of Tesla’s deal with Hertz came last week and the EV maker’s market valuation reportedly rose to $1 trillion after the deal. The rental service will buy 100,000 units of the Tesla Model 3, as per reports.
Musk responded to the news with the following tweet:
Wild $T1mes!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 25, 2021
What is curious is that Musk did not deny the reports of the contract at that time, which has led netizens to speculate that it was an exploitative tactic by the CEO to drive the company’s market cap up. Regardless, the global demand is undeniable as it continues to make a fortune from excellent vehicle sales.
