Monday, October 25, 2021
Mega deal in the USA
Car rental company Hertz buys 100,000 Tesla
Released from bankruptcy proceedings, the car rental company Hertz is planning a multi-billion dollar offensive. The company places a bulk order with Tesla – and invests in thousands of charging stations at the same time. The cheering mood at Tesla is likely to cloud a software glitch.
US car rental company Hertz has placed an order for 100,000 Tesla electric vehicles by the end of 2022 after completing its bankruptcy proceedings. The company’s customers could initially rent a Tesla Model 3 at airports and other locations in major US regions and certain European cities from early November through to the end of the year, the company said, which now operates under a new owner.
According to Hertz, electric vehicles will make up more than 20 percent of the global fleet after the current Tesla order is delivered. The news agency Bloomberg had named a purchase volume of around 4.2 billion US dollars (3.6 billion euros).
To be able to charge the cars, thousands of charging stations are to be installed at the Hertz branches. Customers who rent a Tesla Model 3 will also have access to 3000 of the company’s fast charging stations in the US and Europe. “Electric cars are mainstream now, and global demand is only just beginning to rise,” said interim boss Mark Fields.
Meanwhile, Tesla has withdrawn a new software version for autonomous driving. “We’re seeing some problems with 10.3, so we’re temporarily rolling back to 10.2,” said Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s tweet. This is to be expected with beta software. The new version 10.3 for the so-called full self-driving software should make the operation of the vehicles safer.
The withdrawal of the update is a setback for Tesla. The decision will lead to questions about how the US company introduces new functions. Tesla decided early on to update new functions through software updates via the Internet (over the air).