Uber said its Hertz partnership could make up to 50,000 Tesla Model 3s available for U.S. drivers to rent by 2023. The initial quoted price was $334 a week, including insurance and maintenance. That’s access to a car, not a grant to buy one.
I liked the idea of giving drivers an EV option without a loan. I was too quick to call the weekly price competitive. At $334, a driver needed enough paid miles to cover rent before saving a dollar on fuel. Charging time and available stations mattered too. I would compare total weekly earnings after rental and charging costs with a gasoline car, not assume EV adoption alone improved driver economics.
Uber later worked with BYD on another EV access program. That makes the question bigger, not easier: who carries the vehicle cost when the platform wants an electric fleet?