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Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently nixed hopes of a regular Tesla model ever selling for $25,000.
But he was talking about new models: For car rental company Hertz, the race to sell used Teslas and other EVs at ever-lower prices is not only still on, but accelerating.
Hertz had kicked off 2024 by announcing it was trying to get rid of 20,000 previously-rented, used electric vehicles at “no-haggle prices” before the end of the year. By the end of April, that figure had risen to 30,000 EVs, with average selling prices of around $25,000.
Now, with less than two months to finish the year, prices are reaching new lows: Up high on the sales page of the car-rental company’s website, you can find used Teslas going for less than $20,000, Chevrolet Bolt EVs under $14,000, and Hyundai Kona electric SUVs under $13,000.
And for car buyers ready to act fast, those vehicles are still eligible for the Biden administration’s $4,000 tax incentive for used EVs. It was recently reported that the incoming Trump administration intends to end federal tax credits upon the purchase or lease of EVs.
Hertz-certified EVs are given a 115-point inspection and include a 12-month or 12,000-miles limited powertrain warranty. The car-rental company also sells vehicle protection plans that last beyond the warranty.
Buyers can also return a vehicle within 7 days or 250 miles after their purchase, whichever comes first.
Hertz decided to electrify its fleet of rental vehicles back in 2021, ordering hundreds of thousands of Teslas, Polestars and GM models. The move initially made sense, as maintenance costs for EVs are much lower than for gas-powered vehicles.
But the car-rental company got blindsided by Tesla’s moves to slash the price of new models, which drastically reduced the value of used vehicles. By 2023, Hertz’ EV fleet faced an accelerating rate of depreciation it could no longer handle, triggering the fire sale.
Range Rover’s first electric SUV has 48,000 pre-orders
Range Rover, the brand made famous for its British-styled, luxury, all-terrain SUVs, is keen to show it means business about going electric.
And, according to the most recent investor presentation by parent company JLR, that’s all because Range Rover fans are showing the way. Not only was demand for Range Rover’s hybrid vehicles up 29% in the last six months, but customers are buying hybrids “as a stepping stone towards battery electric vehicles,” the company says.
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BYD’s cheap EVs might remain out of Canada too
With Chinese-made electric vehicles facing stiff tariffs in both Europe and America, a stirring question for EV drivers has started to arise: Can the race to make EVs more affordable continue if the world leader is kept out of the race?
China’s BYD, recognized as a global leader in terms of affordability, had to backtrack on plans to reach the U.S. market after the Biden administration in May imposed 100% tariffs on EVs made in China.
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Tesla posts exaggerate self-driving capacity, safety regulators say
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is concerned that Tesla’s use of social media and its website makes false promises about the automaker’s full-self driving (FSD) software.
The warning dates back from May, but was made public in an email to Tesla released on November 8.
The NHTSA opened an investigation in October into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with the FSD software, following three reported collisions and a fatal crash. The investigation centers on FSD’s ability to perform in “relatively common” reduced visibility conditions, such as sun glare, fog, and airborne dust.
In these instances, it appears that “the driver may not be aware that he or she is responsible” to make appropriate operational selections, or “fully understand” the nuances of the system, NHTSA said.
Meanwhile, “Tesla’s X (Twitter) account has reposted or endorsed postings that exhibit disengaged driver behavior,” Gregory Magno, the NHTSA’s vehicle defects chief investigator, wrote to Tesla in an email.
The postings, which included reposted YouTube videos, may encourage viewers to see FSD-supervised as a “Robotaxi” instead of a partially automated, driver-assist system that requires “persistent attention and intermittent intervention by the driver,” Magno said.
In one of a number of Tesla posts on X, the social media platform owned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a driver was seen using FSD to reach a hospital while undergoing a heart attack. In another post, a driver said he had used FSD for a 50-minute ride home. Meanwhile, third-party comments on the posts promoted the advantages of using FSD while under the influence of alcohol or when tired, NHTSA said.
Tesla’s official website also promotes conflicting messaging on the capabilities of the FSD software, the regulator said.
NHTSA has requested that Tesla revisit its communications to ensure its messaging remains consistent with FSD’s approved instructions, namely that the software provides only a driver assist/support system requiring drivers to remain vigilant and maintain constant readiness to intervene in driving.
Tesla last month unveiled the Cybercab, an autonomous-driving EV with no steering wheel or pedals. The vehicle has been promoted as a robotaxi, a self-driving vehicle operated as part of a ride-paying service, such as the one already offered by Alphabet-owned Waymo.
But Tesla’s self-driving technology has remained under the scrutiny of regulators. FSD relies on multiple onboard cameras to feed machine-learning models that, in turn, help the car make decisions based on what it sees.
Meanwhile, Waymo’s technology relies on premapped roads, sensors, cameras, radar, and lidar (a laser-light radar), which might be very costly, but has met the approval of safety regulators.
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