Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE: UBER) will soon let users in select cities across the world book a Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) or a Polestar electric vehicle for their rides, as it seeks to accelerate its 2030 electrification ambitions.
What Happened: The Uber Comfort Electric feature is making a debut in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Dubai, and the car rental company said it plans to add more cities soon.
“Last year, we teamed up with Hertz to give drivers an option to rent a Tesla. This partnership plans to get 50,000 Teslas on the road by 2023,” Sachin Kansal, Uber's vice president of product, said.
“Our goal is to make every Uber ride an electric one in Europe and North America by 2030.”
The ride-sharing firm also announced a suite of other services, including Uber Travel to allow users to book services for each leg of a journey and Uber Charter, to lets users book buses for group gatherings.
The launch comes a year after Uber and Hertz Global Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: HTZ) announced a partnership to rent out 50,000 Teslas exclusively to drivers by 2023.
Polestar, a subsidiary of Volvo ADR (OTC: VLVLY), has also signed an agreement to supply Hertz with 65,000 EVs over the next five years. The company is expected to go public via a SPAC merger with Gores Guggenheim (NASDAQ:GGPI) in the second quarter.
Why It Matters: Uber reported a massive first-quarter loss of $3.04 per share, much worse than an estimated loss of 24 cents per share.
The company plans to cut costs and become a leaner business to address a “seismic shift” in investor sentiment.
See Also: Uber CEO Calls For Cost Cutting, Treating Hiring As Privilege Amid Seismic Market Shift: Report
Price Action: Uber closed 3.3% lower at $23.6 on Monday.
