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Hey everybody, welcome back to 
the Elon Musk Podcast. 

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This is a show where we discuss 
the critical Crossroads, the 

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Shape, SpaceX, Tesla X, The 
Boring Company, and Neuralink. 

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And I'm your host Will Walden 
Hertz Rental Cars or Hertz 

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Global Holdings announced that 
it's planned to sell 

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approximately 20,000 electric 
vehicles from its rental fleets.

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This is attributed to the 
escalating costs associated with

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collision and damage of these 
vehicles, leaving the company to

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favor less expensive to fix gas 
powered alternatives. 

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Now this announcement impacted 
the stock market with Hertz 

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shares dropping around 4%. 
Tesla, a significant part of 

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Hertz's EV fleet also saw its 
shares declined by about 3% at 

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that time. 
The financial impact on Hertz is

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pretty substantial. 
The company anticipates a charge

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of roughly $245,000,000 in the 
fourth quarter of last year 

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related to the deprecation 
expenses from the sale of these 

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EVs and Hertz move highlights 
the challenging situation for 

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EVs in the current market. 
Growth in EV sales has 

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decelerated a little bit, 
prompting manufacturers like GM 

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and Ford to reconsider their 
production strategies going 

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forward. 
Now Adam Jonas and analysts and 

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Morgan Stanley interprets Hertz 
decision as a cautionary sign 

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for the burgeoning EV sector. 
Right now, he suggests a need to

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recalibrate market expectations 
for electric vehicles and also 

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for rental fleets. 
Now Jonas points out that 

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despite the appealing driving 
experience and fuel efficiency 

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of EVs, ownership entails 
additional, often overlooked 

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costs. 
Now, Hertz previous commitments 

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to electric vehicles included an
order of 100,000 Tesla cars by 

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the end of 2022 and a subsequent
agreement to purchase up to 

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65,000 vehicles from Polestar 
over five years. 

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And Hertz cited elevated 
expensive linked to EV 

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collisions and damages as a 
primary reason for this 

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decision, as mentioned in the 
regulatory filing. 

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Meanwhile, German car rental 
company 6th SIXT has also moved 

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away from Tesla. 
They stopped purchasing Tesla 

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vehicles since 2022 and are now 
selling off their Tesla fleet as

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part of the regular vehicle 
rotation and despite divesting 

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from Tesla 6th remains committed
to electrifying its fleet, 

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aiming to convert 70 to 90% of 
its European rental fleet to 

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electric by 2030. 
Now Hertz, while reducing its EV

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inventory plans to continue 
enhancing the profitability in 

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its remaining electric fleet. 
Now market trends indicate a 

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decline in used EV prices 
through most of 2023. 

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This trend is expected to 
persist with used E VS projected

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to deprecate more than overall 
used vehicle market in 2024 

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according to Cox Automotive. 
Fun fact, I used to work for Cox

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Automotive for about two years 
and I love the experience there.

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Great company to work for great 
people. 

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Carl Brewer, the IC Cars 
spokesman, notes that while 

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20,000 vehicles represent a 
small fraction of the used 

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vehicle market, Hertz's sales 
will contribute to the ongoing 

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trend of depreciating used EV 
values, resulting in significant

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losses for the company. 
Hertz is offering some of his 

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Model 3 vehicles at nearly half 
their original purchase price 

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with listings as low as $20,000.
So get on it. 

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If you're looking for an EV, 
More than likely you can get a 

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Tesla for much cheaper than 
retail. 

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Now this move comes as the 
company aimed for 25% of its 

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fleet to be electrified by the 
end of 2024 / 700 E VS, 

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including models from BMW, 
Chevy, and Tesla are listed for 

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sale on Hertz's used auto 
website. 

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These sales provide an 
opportunity for consumers to 

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acquire affordable electric 
vehicles like model threes and 

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recurrent auto Suggest that 
Hertz test the model threes 

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might qualify for a used EV tax 
rebate too, so you can save 

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potentially more money now. 
This situation presents an 

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attractive option for you if 
you're seeking affordable EVs 

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despite concerns over the 
reliability and high mileage 

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that other rental cars would 
have too. 

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I know people who have bought 
edit this out personally. 

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I know people that have bought 
their vehicles from rental 

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agencies and they turned out to 
be OK. 

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Nothing really wrong with them. 
It's kind of like buying a car 

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from a regular person, but just 
a bunch of different people 

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doing different sort of driving 
than say what I was told when I 

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bought my Subaru, my last 
Subaru, that it was used by a 

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grandma going from her house to 
the grocery store. 

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So which I don't think that's 
actually true, but you know 

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what? 
Burlington Subaru you got me. 

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But that was a great car, 
200,000 miles at that one. 

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So they got me on that one. 
I'm not sure the models or the 

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makes of the model threes or the
actual serial numbers, but I'm 

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sure they're in pretty good 
condition. 

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So to go check them out, see if 
they're good for you. 

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Now, comparisons with other 
marketplaces, though, like 

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CarMax and Autotrader, show that
Hertz's offerings are 

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competitively priced. 
Consumer Reports rates the Model

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3's reliability as average, 
supporting the notion that 

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Hertz's Tesla vehicles are 
pretty good values. 

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Now, Hertz's decision to sell a 
substantial portion of its EV 

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fleet shows a big shift in its 
business strategy, reflecting 

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the current challenges and 
economic realities of the EV 

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market. 
This move offers customers an 

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opportunity to purchase EVs at 
lower prices with considerations

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regarding their condition and 
reliability. 

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It might be right for you, so go
check it out. 

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Hey, thank you so much for 
listening today. 

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I really do appreciate your 
support. 

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If you could take a second and 
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please take care of yourselves 
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I'll see you tomorrow.