Elon Musk said that Tesla had not signed a contract with Hertz yet

November 3, 2021: On Monday night, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that his electric vehicle company has yet to sign a contract with rental car company Hertz. The tweet from Musk contradicted a prior announcement and advertisement released by Hertz on October 25.

Famously, Tesla reached a $1 trillion market cap for the first time a week ago after Hertz announced it would increase its fleet of battery-electric vehicles with “an initial order of 100,000 Teslas by the coming year.”

A commercial featuring seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, alongside parked Tesla Model 3 electric sedans in a Hertz garage, accompanied the announcement.

In the previous week, Interim Hertz CEO Mark Fields said the rental company started talking with Tesla “many months ago” about purchasing the vehicles. He is describing that it as a “great relationship” and part of Hertz’s move to lead rental companies to manage large EV fleets.

“This is about relationships. From that standpoint, the Tesla relationship is significant to us. Still, we also have relationships with all of the automakers, and we want to help them as they introduce their electrified vehicles,” Fields said during an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

Musk, who owns around 20% of Tesla, has seen his net worth rise with the electric vehicle maker’s share price. He is now the world’s wealthiest person.

Other shareholders within and outside the company have benefitted, too, including long-time bulls like Ron Baron, Tesla employees who have earned and vested options over time, and Musk’s fellow board members.

Two days after announcing the initial order of 100,000 Teslas, Hertz said it would make up to half of the cars available to Uber drivers to rent by 2023. The company said “if successful,” the program could expand to 150,000 vehicles over the next three years.

Hertz “pointed out that these ambitions could be affected by factors outside of its control, such as semiconductor chip shortages or other constraints.”

During the burgeoning coronavirus pandemic, Hertz filed for bankruptcy protection — but as travel rebounded somewhat and demand for rental vehicles picked up, investors from Knighthead Capital Management and Certares Management said they would take over the company.