Excerpt:
Hertz is offloading used Tesla Model 3s from its fleet at a deep discount. They may be former rentals, but they're cheap enough that you have to ask yourself—would you buy one for $14,000?-PJHertz initially ordered 100,000 cars from Tesla, but has since pushed back its EV adoption for a multitude of reasons. The company blamed high repair costs and recent price cuts on new Teslas for the decision in an earnings call reported by CNBC. It's possible that the arrival of the 2024 Model 3's "Highland" facelift may also have pushed Hertz to liquidate. In fact, Hertz is already offloading excess Teslas, sometimes for less than half what they cost new.
I've posted elsewhere that local Hertz staff has told me that maintenance costs are very high; so between that and the absurdly low rental rate, I can see why, despite whatever "incentives" they might be getting to field them, it might not be the yellow-brick-road it once was for them.
I suppose I could have found the bargain I wanted if kept hunting, but for all the usual reason people have, I was about 60-70% committed to the idea. I wanted to see what would happen when the subsidies ended and the market right-sized itself. They are a marvelous car when everything's working. Really -- 11/10 and actually inspiring for being American made.
I thought this mod was ideal though I'm not sure it's ready for prime time (ie affordable).