Tesla is driving at full speed, with the EV giant striking a major deal with rental car agent, Hertz

Elon Musk owned, Tesla has officially crossed a $1 trillion stock market valuation for the first time in its operating history…and it follows a major order from global rental car agency, Hertz

Hertz plans to order 100,000 new EVs for its fleet.

It is the biggest-ever order from rental car company Hertz, and a deal that has reinforced the electric car leader’s ambitions to top the entire auto industry in sales over the next decade.

But for Tesla and its investors, Hertz’s decision to order 100,000 Tesla vehicles by the end of 2022 showed electric vehicles are no longer a niche product, but will dominate the mass car market in the near future.

Tesla also appeared on Monday to be making progress resolving regulatory problems that threatened its business in China

The company stated that it had opened a new data and research center in Shanghai to comply with government requirements that data collected from vehicles within China, stay in the country.

Tesla now faces the daunting day-to-day challenge of becoming a high-volume automaker growing at a rate not seen since the early 1900s…when demand exploded for Henry Ford’s Model T.

Tesla is also trying to manage an order backlog for its vehicles as it continues to deal with extended supply chain disruptions. 

Investors and analysts, for now, are looking past the near-term challenges, with the latest deal struck between Tesla and Hertz set to only create more hype around its share price.