Tesla Surpasses $1 Trillion in Market Value as Hertz Orders 100,000 Vehicles

The Wall Street Journal ^ | October 25, 2021 | Dave Sebastian (in some coffeehouse he sat)

[SunkenCiv]

Tesla Inc. TSLA 12.66% became the latest U.S. company to cross the $1 trillion milestone in market value as its stock price has more than doubled in the past year on surging sales and rising profit.

Helping Tesla cross the mark Monday was news that Hertz Global Holdings Inc. HTZZ 10.09% had ordered 100,000 vehicles from the electric vehicle maker to stock its rental-car fleet, a major bulk purchase that could help the car company get more of its cars into the hands of mainstream consumers.

In crossing the $1 trillion mark, Tesla joins Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp. , Amazon.com Inc. and Google-parent Alphabet Inc. Facebook Inc. was part of the group, though its share price has since retreated. Tesla, which last week posted its third consecutive quarter of record profit, is now valued more than the next nine largest auto makers by market cap...

The Tesla order is part of a broader effort by Hertz to give customers more battery-powered options on rental-car lots.

The Estero, Fla., company said that starting in early November and expanding through the end of the year, Hertz customers will be able to rent a Tesla Model 3 at airports and other locations in major U.S. markets and some cities in Europe...

“Electric vehicles are now mainstream, and we’ve only just begun to see rising global demand and interest,” said Mark Fields, Hertz’s interim chief executive. Mr. Fields, a former Ford Motor Co. CEO, took the role earlier this month.

[dynachrome]

That’s right. The cost is zero, I tell ya.

[PGR88]

I think you may be underestimating your average automotive tech these days.

My local car-repair shop now requires a week notice before sending a car in. I wonder, will his guys train on Tesla's? Will some retire rather than go through it? What sort of investment will be needed to get them fully up-to-speed in Tesla repair? I will definitely enquire next time I see the owner.

Perhaps I should say that given brand new systems, and more (or at least different) kind of complexity that must be learned and implemented, in today's economic environment, expect the "new supply chain" on Tesla repairs to be a complete and expensive mess, at least for several years.

[adorno]

With the federal government subsidizing EVs, it’s possible that Hertz was also able to secure a deal for subsidizing their purchases. Teslas are not cheap, and every little bit helps, and the American tax-payer is paying for something that they didn’t agree with.

Biden and democrats and Tesla and Hertz, will be using the Hertz purchase for marketing the heck out of ‘going green’ and helping the climate’. John Kerry will be one of the faces appearing on the ‘going green’ commercials.

[SunkenCiv]

CDs will never replace cassettes, because CDs wear out eventually and cassettes don't.

Rental companies offload their used inventory as they approach the end of their manufacturer warranty, which varies by maker, but it ain't 100s of 1000s of miles.

In the article linked down below, "Tesla now covers all battery capacity degradation in all its vehicles with a limit of 70% capacity for up to 8 years or 100,000 to 150,000 miles depending on the model... However, this Model X got a battery replacement under warranty at 317,000 miles."

A look at Tesla battery degradation and replacement in a Model X with 400,000 miles. Read the article on Electrek.

Tesla battery degradation and replacement after 400,000 miles | June 6, 2020 | Electrek.co

[SunkenCiv]

Hertz stock was up more than 10% today, btw.

https://www.google.com/search?q=hertz+stock

[minnesota_bound]

Tesla up over 12%. They announced a 5-1 stock split in August 2020 when it was about $1,300 so maybe.... another one?
If they do I will buy as the last time it went in 3 weeks to about $2,100 then split and then doubled in price by January 2021.

[minnesota_bound]

Tesla up over 12%. They announced a 5-1 stock split in August 2020 when it was about $1,300 so maybe.... another one?
If they do I will buy as the last time it went in 3 weeks to about $2,100 then split and then doubled in price by January 2021.

[SunkenCiv]

It’s a wild ride. I rode it up earlier in the year, then sold it (much lower than this) near it’s then- alltime high, but only enough to cover the expense of all the shares when I bought ‘em. So, I’ve got Other People’s Money working for me, and I don’t have to pick up antacids all the time.

[minnesota_bound]

Hertz will have many customers stranded when the battery dies.

[SunkenCiv]

Too bad Tesla’s got the only vehicles on the road.

https://www.google.com/search?q=biden+tax+on+vehicle+miles+driven+site%3Afreerepublic.com

[SunkenCiv]

> the American tax-payer is paying for something that they didn’t agree with.

Tesla buyers haven’t gotten any fed subsidy since 2019.

[SunkenCiv]

Sure wish Tesla had charging stations all over North America and software that tips off drivers where they can reasonably expect to need to charge the cars. Oh, wait...

[minnesota_bound]

One short in a battery and there will be a huge fire. No chance of escape. Big lawsuits. Hertz to file for bankruptcy again.

See Chinese electric bus fire. Lucky no one was in it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T71cVhxG_v4

[HamiltonJay]

My last “full time” mechanic, retired a few years back near 70... I knew any major repair, he likely wasn’t going to do it... He was a small independent guy, he wasn’t going to invest in the equipment to work on newer things, and honestly didn’t have the interest to learn.

Standard grease monkey old school stuff fine, but anything too big, or too complex, he would just pass. I never blamed him, just knew if it was something outside what he was willing or able to do I would have to take it somewhere else.

There is no doubt a learning curve to service a Tesla, but hardly is Tesla unique... go read the horror stories about people trying to get their F150’s body work etc serviced for the first few years after they went to all aluminum bodies, there were some insane horror stories out there..

I agree, with you, aren’t probably going to drop into the corner shop and get something beyond the most basic repair done right, unless your corner guy is just into new tech, of his own desires. However the same is true of ANY exotic car brand (not saying Tesla’s are exotics, they aren’t, but take just you’re typical Porche into a corner shop, particularly if its got an electrical issue, and you will likely learn a very expensive lesson when you then have to go to a certified dealer to get the mess they create fixed later.

I definitely agree, it will take some time to get techs fully up to speed on everything. Rental companies however have their own technician/mechanics. I don’t know how dirty they actually get on complex repairs, or if they send those back to the dealers... Given they rent exotics as well I am assuming their techs probably aren’t certified on all the different exotics.

However if 1/4 of their fleet will be Teslas, I would assume retraining their fleet of mechanics to do all but the most niche work on them would not take the company too long to implement.

[SunkenCiv]

Yes, the Tesla battery temperature management is the industry standard, or rather, will be when the industry catches up. And the coolant never has to be replaced, barring some kind of crash damage. The undemanding brake fluid and maybe power steering fluid needs to be checked, neither is a bank-breaker.

[HamiltonJay]

Oh and for the record, that independent mechanic I had that retired, sold his shop, now it its a small independent shop that specializes in servicing exotics.

[SunkenCiv]

Gas powered cars are 65 times more likely to burn.

https://twitter.com/carsonight/status/1439990574203826181

[phoneman08]

Motels will be scrapping their AC and free HBO signs for “EV charging stations here” signage.

I bet it won’t be long before restaurants, bars, movie theaters, etc. have EV chargers in the parking lots.

Pretty much anywhere people can go and spend some money while killing time while paying through the nose to use a charger.

[nascarnation]

That analysis leaves out a critical factor...vehicle age.

The electric cars are youngsters.

Most gas car fires on on beaters where the fuel lines fail due to old age.

[Dr. Sivana]

More to the point 5kw worth of panels on the garage roof will generate 50 kWh in an 10 hour day which at latitude 33 is the shortest day of the year in January.

I've got 7 K solar panels on my house, in Phoenix, which happens to be at 33 latitude, and right now in October I am generating under 20kw per day. Most days are sunny here in Phoenix, but a lot of places are not, or aren't consistently. Many heaviest demand on the grid in warm weather states like Arizona is during the day for A/C. Lowest is at night. In fact, the electric company incentivizes special night time rates on certain plans (kind of like what the phone company used to do for long distance). Many or even most Tesla/EV charging would be over-night. I would not want an EV for my primary car, but for a second car and for certain requirements, it can work just fine.