Nov 2 (Reuters) – Tesla Inc’s (TSLA.O) top boss Elon Musk said the company had not signed a contract with Hertz, more than a week after the car rental firm announced a massive deal with the electric carmaker.
Tesla’s shares fell 4% in early trading on Tuesday, after a steep jump following the news of the biggest-ever order – 100,000 electric cars for Hertz – on Oct. 25, which helped Tesla breach $1 trillion in market capitalization.
“Hertz deal has zero effect on our economics.”
However, Hertz said in a statement that the deliveries of the Teslas had already started.
Hertz’s interim Chief Executive Officer Mark Fields had told Reuters last week the order will primarily include Model 3 vehicles. Considering Tesla’s cheapest Model 3 sedan starts at about $44,000, the order could be worth about $4.4 billion, if the entire order were for the mass-market sedan.
Separately, Tesla is recalling nearly 12,000 U.S. vehicles sold since 2017 because a communication error may cause a false forward-collision warning or unexpected activation of the automatic emergency braking system, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.
