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Hertz orders 100k Teslas

bloomberg.com

261–270 of 516 posts

Re: Hertz orders 100k Teslas

#261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Considering the barrier to entry for these rental companies to fast charge and/or renewables charge (solar?) on-site is far lower than becoming a gas station, I expect this to just be another axis they compete on as things mature. That should translate into savings and/or warm fuzzies for customers in the long-run, though it may take a minute before we get there. There was no realistic scenario for rental companies t…

Hertz can use this to differentiate themselves: “return the car without worrying about filling it up!”

All companies already offer a known surcharge at checkin to do this.

Re: Hertz orders 100k Teslas

#263
post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am sure Hertz can afford a 50KW charger at their locations => 1-2h for full charge.

Not to mention that if the charger is on-premise, there is no longer a personnel need to drive gas-depleted cars to an offsite refueling station. That may add up to significant labor savings.

If agency on-site charging is fast enough, that’s a win, like a pump at every stall.

Re: Hertz orders 100k Teslas

#264
post #15

I say this having never driven a Tesla, but are they really suitable rental cars? My understanding is that Tesla vehicles differ quite a bit from regular ICE vehicles, to the point that there's a bit of a learning curve to operating the car. I'd be interested to hear from a Tesla owner on this. Maybe it's a non-issue.

They might need some custom software from Tesla for the infotainment unit to allow people to pair their phones etc.

Having to do a full reset of the head unit after every customer isn't really a good option.

And I'm pretty sure they'll tap in to the car telemetry and they WILL know if you've been doing quarter mile runs on their car =)

Re: Hertz orders 100k Teslas

#265
post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my experience cars with diesel engines and manual transmissions also had the tendency to creep forward instead of stalling while in first gear when neither brake nor accelerator pedal was stepped on.

All cars will creep forward with the first gear on. The thing is, if you're already going faster than 10km/h, they'll decelerate towards that surprisingly quickly.

Petrol cars in 4th gear+ don’t decelerate much. Also most EVs don’t creep.

Re: Hertz orders 100k Teslas

#266
post #15

I say this having never driven a Tesla, but are they really suitable rental cars? My understanding is that Tesla vehicles differ quite a bit from regular ICE vehicles, to the point that there's a bit of a learning curve to operating the car. I'd be interested to hear from a Tesla owner on this. Maybe it's a non-issue.

My concern with renting one (which for now would stop me from doing it), is the scarcity of charging locations. Not sure how far apart they are in most locations nowadays, or what wait times are like, but if I'm on vacation (which is when I most often rent), then no hassle is worth it. There are gas stations everywhere.

There are high power chargers pretty much everywhere too. Welcome to 2021.

Re: Hertz orders 100k Teslas

#267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Let's imagine that they have the Tesla with a very good discount: 30000$ a piece. "To be clear, cars sold to Hertz have no discount. Same price as to consumers." https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1452794619410927625?s=20

That's crazy. Who pays the single-unit retail price for 100,000 units of something?! That doesn't happen in business, ever, unless something weird is going on.

That weird thing is called supply & demand. Econ 101

Traditionally car makers offer volume discounts because they have excess capacity i.e. they can make more cars that they can sell.

Currently Tesla is sold out 6 months in advance on Model 3 SR (the one that Hertz is buying).

Currently Tesla doesn't care if Hertz buys cars from them or not because they are sold out for the foreseeable future either way.

So if Hertz wants 100k EV to be delivered within a year, their only option is Tesla, because no other company can even make that many EV cars.

And if Tesla doesn't want to give them discount, they have to pay full price.

Re: Hertz orders 100k Teslas

#268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does an easter egg in a Tesla has to do with safety or longevity of the vehicle?

You're right, what could an unexpected loud noise or visual disturbance in a car possibly do to reduce safety of a distracted driver?

The easter eggs are intentionally difficult to trigger. It's impossible for one to be "unexpectedly" activated.

Re: Hertz orders 100k Teslas

#269

I was very pessimistic about Tesla and confused by their stock price. But I now believe that they indeed are doing it and that we’re finally at the EV revolution. I’m not an early adopter type and the Teslas don’t excite me at all, but I’m really delighted that the market is evolving. I’m delighted that I was wrong.

Tesla’s stock price is confusing if you compare them to a car company. But they are not just a car company. They are also a car manufacturing supply chain, having brought much of their component production in house. They are also an energy company, both generation and storage, but also distribution, like gas stations. Think Exxon, BP, Chevron, ARCO, etc. They are probably a few other things, but this is the mystery o…

On the automotive side, they are also a worldwide dealership network, a nascent insurance company.

Re: Hertz orders 100k Teslas

#270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coasting is way more efficient than regenerative braking slowing your roll, causing you to need to accelerate again. Hence why many non-car electrified rides disable Regen braking in Eco mode when your not accelerating or braking as keeping that mechanical energy & momentum is much more efficient than paying the conversion penalty to turn it back into electricity.

If you his the accelerator steady, you can easily keep a pretty constant speed. It's not like you have to either be slamming on the accelerator or completely off the accelerator, you can keep it constant and hold a speed. I really prefer single pedal as with just the single pedal I get far more control of my speed than if I had to switch between two pedals. Want to slow down a little? Just ease up a little. Want to g…

Oh my, this reminds me of a Lyft I got home from the airport once. The driver didn't know how to hold the throttle steady and was constantly on and off the gas for the entire 15 mile drive back home on the interstate. I was nauseous and nearly puking by the time I got home, even sitting in the front passenger seat because I'm already prone to motion sickness.

I'm hoping their car was actually broken in some way, because I'm assuming they had owned a license for decades at that point.

However, I'm pessimistic and curious if some people just learn to drive with the constant coasting on and off the throttle? Maybe it's an international thing? I'm not sure but I will never forget that ride!

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