Hertz has less than half the Teslas it planned to order by now

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. ended last year with far fewer Tesla Inc. vehicles in its fleet than planned when the rental-car company was plotting its late 2021 stock listing.

In an annual regulatory filing Tuesday, Hertz said its rental fleet in the Americas peaked at 428,700 vehicles last year, and that Teslas were 11 percent of its fleet. That means Hertz had fewer than 50,000 Teslas in its fleet — less than half the 100,000 the company said it would order by the end of 2022.

Hertz’s October 2021 announcement of its Tesla order sent the electric-vehicle maker’s valuation soaring past $1 trillion for the first time. It also helped drum up interest in the rental-car company, which staged its post-bankruptcy public offering two weeks later.

Elon Musk tempered Tesla’s stock rally somewhat days after Hertz made its announcement, tweeting that no contract had been signed and that the EV maker had far more demand than production. Tesla’s market capitalization was $616.2 billion at the close of trading Monday.

Hertz’s filing provides some clues as to why it’s added far fewer Teslas than the car renter said it would order. The first risk factor the company lists pertaining to its EV initiatives is that the strategy depends on the “ability to secure adequate vehicle supply within the time frame we, and our customers, expect.”

Another factor that may have come into play: Tesla raised prices on several occasions last year, which might have made acquiring cars costlier than Hertz expected. That’s less of an issue after Tesla slashed prices across its lineup last month.