Hertz Rental Car recently announced their intentions of purchasing 100,000 Teslas for its car-rental fleet. Tesla estimated the cost of these cars was $4.2 billion.
There’s no bulk-rate discount being offered by Tesla to Hertz – they don’t need it. They have “friends in high places” in Washington, D.C. who greased the deal for them:
According to the Wall Street Journal:
- “The House reconciliation spending bill includes a 30% tax credit for “qualified commercial electric vehicles.”
- “This credit could save Hertz $1.26 billion and make a Tesla almost as cheap for Hertz to buy as a Toyota Camry.”
- “Hertz plans to install thousands of electric-vehicle chargers, which could also be eligible for taxpayers subsidies. The House spending bill extends a 30% tax credit for the installation of EV charging stations through 2031, which is on top of the $7.5 billion appropriation for stations in the separate Senate infrastructure bill.”
Prior to cashing in on Washington’s EV craze, Hertz filed for bankruptcy in May of 2020.
Lesson no. 1 from Hertz: who needs marketing and sales departments? All you really need to succeed in business is government on your side.