Hertz said on Monday the car rental firm has ordered 100,000 Tesla Inc. cars for delivery by the end of 2022 as it invests to build the largest EV rental fleet in North America.
Tesla shares were up 4 percent at $946.32 before the bell. Bloomberg first reported the story earlier Monday.
Hertz had filed for bankruptcy protection last year as travel demand sank during the height of the pandemic and talks with creditors failed to provide relief.
It was rescued by a group of investors including Knighthead Capital Management, Certares Opportunities and Apollo Capital Management.
Earlier this month, Hertz named former Ford chief Mark Fields as interim CEO.
The cars will be delivered over the next 14 months, and Tesla’s Model 3 sedans will be available to rent at Hertz locations in major U.S. markets and parts of Europe starting in early November, the rental company said in a statement. Customers will have access to Tesla’s network of superchargers, and Hertz is also building its own charging infrastructure.
It’s the single-largest purchase ever for electric vehicles, or EVs, and represents about $4.2 billion of revenue for Tesla, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. While car-rental companies typically demand big discounts from automakers, the size of the order implies that Hertz is paying close to list prices.
“How do we democratize access to electric vehicles? That’s a very important part of our strategy,” Fields told Bloomberg in an interview. “Tesla is the only manufacturer that can produce EVs at scale.”
Bloomberg and Reuters contributed to this report.