A single tweet really makes a big difference nowadays, especially if it comes from Elon Musk.
The Tesla CEO proved just that in the wake of skyrocketing fortune amid a deal with car rental company Hertz. The said deal gave the automaker a stratospheric 33 percent surge in the U.S. stock market.
The Tesla Silicon Valley Club Twitter acocunt marked that milestone by thanking Musk on Twitter.
A few hours later, Musk responded to the tweet with a head-scratching clarification. While he appreciated the gesture, Musk said that "no contract has been signed yet." He added that since Tesla has "far more demand than production," the company will "only sell cars to Hertz for the same margin as to consumers."
The Hertz deal, which consists of an order of 100,000 Teslas for its rental fleet, "has zero effect on our economics," Musk stressed.
You’re welcome!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 2, 2021
If any of this is based on Hertz, I’d like to emphasize that no contract has been signed yet.
Tesla has far more demand than production, therefore we will only sell cars to Hertz for the same margin as to consumers.
Hertz deal has zero effect on our economics.
Tesla Stock Price Today Suffers Massive Drop
With that tweet, investors started to doubt this largest Tesla order to date, with stocks tumbling by as much as four percent in intraday trading on Tuesday from its close of a record-high $1,208 on Monday, according to Forbes. It then closed at $1,171.97, a big three-percent drop.
This led to Tesla losing $42 billion in market value, putting their streak of gains this week to a screeching halt.
Even with that freefall, Hertz insisted in a statement quoted by Forbes that it did make an "initial order" of 100,000 Teslas and that the deliveries have started.
Though the deal's specifics were not publicly announced, Hertz maintained that it has started to roll out the Teslas in their fleet--all despite Musk's clarification that seemingly contradicted last week's announcement that added $300 billion to Tesla's value and made Musk the richest person in the world.
Hertz Maintains Order of 100,000 Teslas; Deliveries Starting
Hertz interim CEO Mark Fields himself emphasized the importance of adding Teslas to their fleet. "Electric vehicles are now mainstream," Fields said in a statement published by Complex.
He added that the market is just starting to see a "rising global demand and interest." Hertz is pushing this deal to have the "largest EV rental fleet in North America," and they are committed to expand this fleet while offering the best rental and charging experience for its customers around the world.
That deal had brought Tesla to an immense valuation that made it reach the exclusive "trillion dollar club" of a few global companies. Musk himself had his net worth soar to $315 billion and made him not only the wealthiest person in the world, but also the richest Forbes has ever tracked.
Only Apple, Microsoft and Google parent firm Alphabet have higher valuation than Tesla, which is now worth $1.2 trillion as a result of the Hertz deal. This deal represents about 20 percent of the 500,000 Tesla units sold last year.
