Hertz now renting Tesla Model S cars in California

By James O'Toole @jtotoole September 25, 2013: 7:29 PM ET


Not ready to plunk down $70,000 for a Tesla Model S? Now you can rent one.

Hertz (HTZ, Fortune 500) announced Wednesday that it was adding Tesla's (TSLA) signature model to its rental fleet as part of its "Dream Cars" line, which also offers high-end rentals from companies like Ferrari and Aston Martin.
Unfortunately for most of the U.S., the Model S will only be available for rental in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
"[S]hould customer demand warrant it, we will consider expanding availability to other locations," Hertz spokeswoman Paula Rivera said in an email.
Rental rates start around $500 per day, plus $0.49 a mile after the 75-mile mark, Rivera said.

Related: Tesla superchargers take over America
The plug-in Model S has garnered rave reviews in recent months. It aced its first crash test last month, and Consumer Reports called the Model S the best car it had ever tested.
A Tesla spokeswoman said the automaker had "seen interest from rental car companies and fleet buyers who want to provide their customers access to a high-performance sedan, which also happens to be electric."

 

Hmm I'm temped!!

 

Its quite amazing to see cars you can rent, all brands seem to have a "Prestige" collection. Panamera, Lambo, E63, etc etc and I saw the new Kia Cadenza in fleet already.

 

its expensive to rent but i would hit it :-)

 

that's what i'm saying, I'd test it out for a day!

 

$500/day + mileage?

 

I would rent, but not for $500 a day. For that much, i would rather rent a lambo or something

 

Is it the 85kWh version? That's the one I'd love to have!!

 

Always tempting, but I've already test driven one. So I'll go buy it and put the $500 towards a month's car payment! It rocks BTW.