Gary Zhou 
Key Points
- 📱 Tesla’s mobile app can now be used with any rental from Hertz.
- 🚗 Hertz rentals will include a QR code for pairing the app with the vehicle.
- 🔑 The app allows drivers to use their phones as car keys and offers features like remote battery preconditioning, charge status tracking, and cloud profile settings transfer.
- 🚗 Hertz plans to purchase 100,000 Tesla vehicles and offers Model 3 and Model Y rentals.
- 🤝 Hertz has extended a partnership with Uber, offering discounted weekly rental rates to drivers.
- 🧩 Tesla is working on custom software builds for rental companies, enhancing the utility of its vehicles for specific use cases.
- 🌐 Hertz aims to double down on electrification and become a market leader in EV offerings among rental car companies.
Tesla began a major partnership with rental car company Hertz in 2021, and now you can find the Model 3 and Model Y available to rent at most locations. Now, the Tesla mobile app can be used with any rental from Hertz, unlocking a handful of valuable features.
According to a post from the Tesla North America account on X on Tuesday, all Hertz rentals now offer full access to the automaker’s mobile app. Tesla cars rented from Hertz will now include a simple QR code that drivers can scan to pair their mobile app with the vehicle, as can be seen in the automaker’s video shared in the post.
The QR code appears on the lower left-hand side of the infotainment center, beside the messages “use your phone as a key” and “scan this code to get started.”
Along with letting drivers use their phones as car keys, the ability to use the mobile app adds other useful features such as remote battery preconditioning, charge status tracking and automatic transfer of your cloud profile settings, if you have this feature turned on in your own Tesla.
Check out Tesla’s post about the new feature below:
The news comes after Hertz announced plans to purchase 100,000 Tesla vehicles in October 2021. Since then, the Model 3, Model Y and other electric vehicles (EVs), such as the Polestar 2, have become available to rent on the company’s platform. Hertz has also extended a partnership with ride-sharing company Uber, offering drivers a discounted weekly rental rate.
As electrek pointed out on Tuesday, Tesla had already shared plans in the past to develop custom software builds for rental companies and police departments, set to make their vehicles more useful for specific use cases. The new Hertz-Tesla app integration appears to be the latest iteration of those developments.
Last year, Hertz announced an investment into a self-service EV rental app in partnership with UFODRIVE, which is intended to offer a seamless experience for booking Model 3 rentals. Following record earnings in 2022, Hertz announced hopes to double down on electrification this year, being the clear market leader for EV offerings from rental car companies.
