The deal comes days after Hertz, which collapsed into bankruptcy at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic last year, said it is making a significant investment in an EV rental fleet, including an initial order of 100,000 Teslas by the end of 2022 and new EV charging infrastructure across the globe. The company exited Chapter 11 in June and has a planned stock listing coming later this year.
The Teslas it plans to add to the Uber network will come from the 100,000-vehicle order revealed earlier this week and future orders as the program grows.
The deal between Hertz and Tesla led to a big stock market rally for the electric-car maker this week. Tesla’s stock, which had more than doubled this past year, shot up to $1024.86 a share Monday, pushing the company’s value north of $1 trillion for the first time.
The deal also aided Hertz’s shares, which have been traded over the counter since the company was delisted in the summer of 2020. Hertz’s shares rose roughly 10% to $27.17 Monday.
The rental-car firm plans to list its shares on the Nasdaq in the fourth quarter this year. The listing will mark a comeback for Hertz, whose bookings collapsed as Covid-19 began to rapidly spread in the U.S. in the spring of 2020. At the time, the 103-year-old company was laden with debt after years of aggressive borrowing, leading it to file for bankruptcy in May that year.
Since then, the travel industry has rebounded and demand for rental cars has surged as more Americans hit the road, looking to avoid the risks of air travel. Investors have piled into Hertz, too, trading up the shares in the over-the-counter market.
The company emerged from bankruptcy with more than $5.9 billion in new equity capital, a large portion of which was raised by new owners Knighthead Capital Management LLC and Certares Management LLC. Earlier this month, it named Mark Fields, a veteran auto industry executive and former Ford Motor Co. chief executive, to serve as interim CEO.
The latest deals are part of a broader strategy by the postbankruptcy Hertz to modernize its operations and fleets, leveraging new tech to improve logistics and give customers more options.
“One of the biggest benefits of a restructuring like ours is it gives us a fresh perspective,” Mr. Fields said. “It allows us to take the approach of instead of saying ‘why?’—‘why not?’ ”
The relationship with Tesla isn’t exclusive and Hertz eventually plans to buy electric vehicles from other companies like Ford and General Motors Co., according to Mr. Fields.