Update: Lede paragraph date revised to Thursday to reflect accuracy.
Hertz gave several updates on its fleet of Tesla and Polestar all-electric vehicles, which it started offering to customers earlier this year, during its Earnings Call for Q2 2022 held on Thursday.
Hertz expanded its EV offerings to sixteen new cities earlier this month and has experienced widespread success in its EV fleet.
Initial Order of 100,000 Teslas
Hertz initially ordered 100,000 Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in October 2021. The move was Hertz’s introduction into EV adoption, which has expanded to other automakers, including Polestar, who announced a 65,000 unit deal with the rental agency just months later. The 100,000 vehicle deal was not offered at a discount. However, Hertz has maintained that its adoption of Teslas has resulted in a dramatic spike in interest from renters.
“With respect to EV specifically, over 15,000 Uber drivers to date have rented a Tesla from Hertz, at a minimum rate of $334 per week, comprising over half a million transaction days,” company CEO Stephen Scherr said. “Driver feedback has been positive and they remain drawn to the opportunity as gasoline prices remain elevated and demand for the service among Uber customers is strong. Our Tesla’s enabled Uber drivers could differentiate themselves and to improve upon the quality of their riders experience, and that translates into higher earnings for them.”
20,000 Teslas and Polestar EVs Delivered
Hertz detailed on the call that it has accepted around 20,000 electric vehicles in its fleet since it started taking deliveries of its various EVs. Scherr continued that deliveries are ongoing.
Maintenance Reductions
Electric vehicles are most often noted for their drastic reductions in service compared to combustion engine vehicles, which results in more savings over the lifespan of the car due to fewer moving parts. Hertz is learning that lesson pretty easily, according to Scherr, who stated the company is seeing a roughly 50 to 60 percent decrease in maintenance costs:
“On maintenance, I think Kenny said to you, we are running kind of 50% to 60% of what maintenance costs are on ICE vehicles. That’s roughly in line with where we are. If there’s anyone surprised, it’s probably a slightly higher expense on tires, but not much more, and that’s embedded in the figure I’m giving you. So I would say, overall, we are very pleased with the results. They’re coming in roughly in line with what we thought when we first underwrote the move in this strategic direction.”
Additionally, Kenny Cheung, Hertz’s CFO, also commented on the maintenance cost reductions:
“As for the primary drivers of the year-on-year increase, we experienced higher cost and transportation and fuel, reflecting the effect of broader inflationary trends as well as in maintenance on order fleet. We expect maintenance expenses to moderate as our fleet continues to grow younger. On the forward, we anticipate additional operating leverage as more expensive third-party labor strategically replaced with Hertz employees and we further reduced maintenance expense as we rejuvenate the fleet and continue to grow our number of EVs.”
Return Customers
Scherr said that customers seem to be more interested in renting Teslas over and over again, which has translated to an increase in repeat clients for the company. “I think we have schooled our customers on how to use them, so much so that I think there’s an embedded tether there,” he said, referring to Tesla’s key card. “They’re coming back to use the car and rent the car more frequently. And I think all of those are expressions of the first mover edge that we have around EVs.”
Consumers may be hesitant to try a new, technologically-advanced product, especially when dealing with a car. However, it seems that once Hertz’s rental clients make the jump to try an EV, they’re much more likely to come back simply because of the ease of access and features.
Less Vehicle Depreciation
Company executives also stated that the depreciation of EVs in their rental fleet is moving at a slower pace than its ICE vehicles. Cheung said that the performance of the EV fleet early on has the company “more confident” in the economics of the BEVs compared to their ICE offerings.
This is comparable to the scenario that police departments have when purchasing an EV. Initially, the cost of a quality electric vehicle is somewhat higher than an ICE vehicle. Over time, as fuel costs, maintenance, and other costs pile up, the EVs will be more advantageous to Hertz and other adoptees in the books. The cost of savings is exponentially more in an EV compared to an ICE car. This has been proven on several occasions, including with the Westport, Connecticut Police Department.
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Tesla will resolve its massive recall of nearly three million vehicles in China with stickers and a software update.
On Friday, Chinese regulators filed recall plans against Tesla, Xiaomi, Leapmotor, Xpeng, Chery, Geely, Dongfeng, Arcfox, and FAW to resolve what is essentially a carbon-copy issue throughout each of the companies’ vehicle models: emergency door release latches are simply not visible enough.
Tesla door handle saga gets its latest chapter and a big change is coming
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The companies will be required to add things that will make these latches, which will open the door in the event of an emergency, more visible. Of the 7 million vehicles impacted, Tesla accounts for 2,975,910 units. More than 1.9 million of those are Model Y vehicles, with the rest, just over 970,000, being Model 3s.
To resolve the issue, Tesla is going to add warning labels to the emergency latches free of charge, and then utilize an Over-the-Air update to add a post-crash window-lowering strategy, according to CNEVpost.
This massive effort to fix the all-electric Model Y and Model 3’s emergency latch system comes just months after several probes across various markets identified the trouble some had identifying this latch. Those who had gotten involved in car accidents that stripped the vehicle of its power were not aware that every Tesla has emergency door latches.
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said that severe crashes that disable a vehicle’s low-voltage system could not only hinder occupants from getting out, but also make it more difficult for emergency response workers to gain entry.
SAMR is starting to tighten the regulations it has on door handles on vehicles. A new mandatory national standard will take effect for all models starting January 1, 2027, and will require all doors to be equipped with mechanical release mechanisms. This will effectively end purely electronic door handles. Models already on sale with type approval have been granted a two-year transition period, which will enable things to change until January 2029.
Tesla has officially confirmed plans to bring its all-electric Semi truck to Europe, with full specifications and market-launch details set for unveiling at the IAA Transportation trade fair in Hannover, Germany.
The event runs September 15–20, with a possible press preview on September 14. The announcement, shared via Tesla’s Semi account, marks a significant expansion beyond North America nearly nine years after the truck’s original 2017 reveal.
🚨 Tesla Semi is coming to Europe!
Sustainable logistics is a huge market internationally, and now Tesla is involved in it outside of the U.S. market! https://t.co/q3hjX6ybMv pic.twitter.com/mxTaVY3UsE
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 20, 2026
In the United States, the Semi’s path has been gradual. Limited pilot production and customer deliveries began in late 2022, primarily to fleets such as PepsiCo. After years of refinement, high-volume manufacturing started on April 29, 2026, at a dedicated facility adjacent to Gigafactory Nevada.
The plant targets an annual capacity of 50,000 units, though the ramp is expected to be gradual, with “many thousands” of trucks projected by the end of 2026.
Demand is building, with recent orders including 500 units for Einride (deliveries starting September 2026, serving Amazon and others) and hundreds more from operators such as WattEV. Pricing stands at approximately $260,000 for the Standard Range and $290,000 for the Long Range before incentives.
Tesla Semi pricing revealed after company uncovers trim levels
Earlier in 2026, Tesla finalized production specifications that incorporated substantial updates. In February, the company detailed two variants designed for a full 82,000-pound gross combination weight.
The Standard Range offers about 325 miles of range with a 548 kWh battery and curb weight under 20,000 pounds. The Long Range delivers roughly 500 miles with an 822 kWh pack and a 23,000-pound curb weight. Both use three independent rear-axle motors producing up to 800 kW (about 1,073 horsepower), achieve energy consumption of around 1.7 kWh per mile, and support megawatt-class charging at up to 1.2 MW—recovering about 60 percent of range in 30 minutes through the MCS standard.
Additional refinements include a roughly 1,000-pound weight reduction versus earlier prototypes, improved aerodynamics, a 48-volt electrical architecture, electric power take-off up to 25 kW for refrigerated trailers, and fleet management software with over-the-air updates.
These advances position the Semi as a competitive option against diesel trucks on operating costs and performance. For Europe, adaptations such as lighting, cab configurations (including potential sleeper options), and regulatory compliance are anticipated.
With series production underway in Nevada and major fleet commitments secured, the upcoming IAA reveal will clarify timelines, European-specific specs, and pricing, potentially accelerating electrification of heavy-duty freight on both continents.
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Tesla Robotaxi gets a massive upgrade in Nevada
Nevada regulators just approved a massive expansion of Tesla’s robotaxi fleet across the entire county.
Tesla’s robotaxi footprint in Nevada just grew by roughly 500 times in a single regulatory vote.
The Nevada Transportation Authority approved Tesla’s full Autonomous Vehicle Network Company permit on Thursday, clearing the way for the company to deploy up to 5,000 driverless vehicles across Clark County over the next 12 months. The decision came during a four hour general session meeting that Tesla investor Sawyer Merritt watched live and reported on X, noting the vote replaces the interim order that had limited Tesla to just 10 robotaxis on a narrow stretch of the Las Vegas Strip.
EXCLUSIVE: Tesla has just officially received approval for its full Autonomous Vehicle Network Company permit in Nevada, clearing the way for Tesla to launch a paid public Robotaxi service in Las Vegas.
This officially allows @Tesla to deploy up to 5,000 robotaxis over the next… pic.twitter.com/DPs5UtUlrE
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 20, 2026
That earlier cap, covered here after it surfaced on August 13, came with restrictions that looked stricter than what Tesla runs in Austin: a 45 mph speed ceiling, no airport pickups, and a geofence confined to the Strip corridor. The new approval extends Tesla’s operating authority to all of Clark County, with room to request an even wider geofence across the state.
Tesla representatives at the meeting said they have no intention of putting 5,000 cars on the road right away. Commercial rides are expected to start within 30 days, pending vehicle inspections, insurance filings, and fare approval, the standard steps every robotaxi operator in Nevada has had to clear.
Tesla’s own Robotaxi account replied to the news with a short line, The golden future is upon us.
The timing lines up with Tesla’s broader robotaxi push this month. The company is preparing to open Cybercab rides to the public in Austin as soon as this month, and it opened a sweepstakes for riders to win a seat at the launch event. Tesla filed its original application for a 5,000 vehicle Nevada fleet back in June, a request regulators trimmed to 10 vehicles when they issued the interim order in July. Thursday’s vote effectively grants the number Tesla asked for from the start.
Zoox, the Amazon owned robotaxi operator, has run in Nevada since 2025 and was capped at 100 vehicles before Thursday’s decision. Tesla’s new ceiling puts it well ahead of that comparison on paper, though the company has said its actual fleet size will depend on how quickly FSD v15 rolls out, the software update executives have called the gateway to scaling unsupervised robotaxi operations nationwide.
Tesla will resolve massive China recall with stickers and a software update
Tesla Semi is officially headed to Europe
