Hertz will supply 50,000 Teslas to Uber drivers in scheme that starts next week in California and Washington DC and will roll out across US by end of year
Hertz and Uber have partnered to launch a fleet of 50,000 Teslas as rental options to the ride sharing app's network of drivers by 2023.
Scheme is part of Uber's aim to be fully electric in the U.S. by 2030 and the tech firm will drivers $1 more for every electric ride as an initiative for them to switch.
The new initiative, announced Wednesday, is aimed at Uber drivers who don't own their own cars or prefer not to use a personal vehicle for work.
It will let them rent a Tesla through Hertz starting on November 1 in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Washington D.C.
The program is expected to expanding to cities nationwide later in the year, the ride-hail company said in a blog post.
Uber noted that this 'the largest expansion of electric vehicles (EVs) on a mobility platform in North America and one of the largest globally.'
Hertz and Uber announced plans to launch a fleet of 50,000 Teslas as rental options to its network of rideshare drivers by 2023 starting in select cities on November 1
The new initiative, announced Wednesday, will allow Uber drivers to rent a Tesla through Hertz starting on November 1 in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Washington D.C
This new program combines 'environmental benefits by reaching rental drivers, who are often looking to offer rides for more hours and more miles than the average driver,' according to Uber which said that many of their ridesharing drivers don't have access to their vehicles.
The fully electric Tesla rentals, consisting mostly of the electric vehicle company's Model 3 sedan, will be available exclusively to Uber drivers beginning at $334 a week, including insurance and maintenance. But Uber has plans to drop the cost to $299 a week or lower as the program take off.
Drivers must have at least a 4.7-star rating and completed a minimum of 150 trips to be eligible to rent a Tesla.
The announcement comes just days after Hertz announced plans on Monday to order 100,000 Tesla vehicles by the end of 2022 and new EV-charging infrastructure around the world.
Hertz hopes the EV focus will push the 103-year-old company to stand out against competitors as it works to recover after filing for bankruptcy during the pandemic.
Hertz's interim chief executive, Mark Fields, told the Wall Street Journal: 'One of the biggest benefits of a restructuring like ours is it gives us a fresh perspective.'
'It allows us to take the approach of instead of saying 'why?'—'why not?'
As the travel industry has bounced back and rental cars are in high demand, Hertz is rushing to rebuild their fleet and take advantage of the travel boom.
Hertz's interim chief executive, Mark Fields, explained the new initiative as part of the company's effort to recover from filing for bankruptcy during the pandemic and invest in electric-vehicle rental fleet while rebuilding their fleet
Hertz also announced plans to purchase the biggest-ever order of Tesla's which led to a share price rally and saw the company's market value surpass $1 trillion for the first time
'Our approach going forward is going to be different,' Fields said. 'We want to be asking: 'How can we help you achieve your objectives?'
Carmakers also consider partnerships with ride-hail companies as a convenient way to expose more consumers to non-fuel-powered vehicles. Hertz also supplies vehicles to Lyft.
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 US, Canadian and European platform by 2030, and worldwide by 2040.
Their Green Future Program provides incentives for drivers to transition to EV's as part of their zero-emissions goal.
But only few ride-hail drivers can afford the high prices of EV's. In 2019, only 0.15% of all Uber miles in the US and Canada were driven in electric vehicles, company data showed.
Ride-hail drivers produce more pollution per passenger-mile traveled because they spend more than a third of their time driving around empty. Research shows that rideshare drivers produce 3 to 4 times greater emissions savings than average car owners when switching to EV's.
News of the biggest-ever Tesla order led to a share price rally and saw the company's market value, which more than doubled this past year, surpass $1 trillion for the first time.
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