Hertz put a first-time EV driver in a Tesla that was half dead, then tried to hold her financially accountable for getting stranded on the side of the road.
Now that EVs are filling out rental fleets around the U.S., drivers are going through an adjustment period full of hazards and inconveniences. A mother and daughter from Gurnee, Illinois, became trapped inside of a Tesla from Hertz, which the company rented out to them in lieu of an ICE-equipped sedan the woman had reserved in advance. After the dead Tesla stranded them, Hertz tried to put the woman on a do-not-rent list, despite being responsible for much of the trouble, as the woman tells CBS News.
When Becky Liebau and her daughter arrived to the Hertz counter, they were told the only car left on the rental lot was a Tesla. Liebau had never driven an EV; she had booked a reservation for a gas-powered car, but rental companies are notorious for taking reservations though not holding onto them. According to Liebau, this was around closing time and she had no other choice but to take the Tesla, which appears to have been a Model 3 based on the CBS report:
Disaster ensued for the mother and daughter, who had booked the trip to scope out prospective colleges for the 16-year old scholar. We could easily say this was due to driver error, but it’s not that simple. User error figures into the problems that left the woman and teenager stranded, but the onus rests on Hertz now that it’s bolstered its rental fleet with over 50,000 EVs. Especially when dealing with first-time EV drivers like Liebau.
And it’s not like it was for lack of trying on the part of the mother and daughter. Liebau says her daughter tried getting up to speed on the Tesla EV, going on the internet to learn how to to operate the fully-electric car.
Hertz had given the pair an EV that was reportedly under 50 percent state of charge. The Tesla showed approximately 90 miles of range left, which may have been enough to get Liebau and her daughter to a charger. Hertz, however, did not provide them with an adapter to use charging stations that don’t conform to Tesla’s charging standard. Hertz later suggested these adapters are often targeted by thieves. It’s hard to see why that matters, or why Hertz would mention this — other than to suggest it was acting in its own best interest.
The Tesla’s tires were also low on air and would have benefitted from a top up. What Hertz basically did was hand Liebau the keys to a less than half-charged EV with low tire pressure and a missing adapter for use at nearby chargers. The Tesla went dead as Liebau searched for a charging station, trapping the two inside the cabin. Liebau and her daughter had no idea how to get out of the dead EV, and their phones were running out of battery, too. Again, that’s user error, but no one at Hertz explained the proper procedures to Liebau.
No roadside assistance came from Hertz. The two were eventually towed by a driver they had tracked down on their own, who taught them to override the electric door locks. They were taken to a hotel nearby, and had to pay one of the maintenance workers there for a ride across the state.
Presumably, back to their home. A hefty bill was waiting for them, as Hertz tried to pin the blame on Liebau. She refused to pay the invoices, and the company put her on a do-not-rent list. Hertz only happened to reverse course after CBS investigators reached out to the company. CBS says that Hertz has now refunded all charges and has reimbursed Liebau for the expenses she incurred.
Okay, I know this is going to personally offend you, but stupid people are allowed to have a life and do things in public. People with cognitive or executive disabilities are also allowed to rent a car. People with ASDs, people that come from an anti-tech religious family, people who have difficulty transferring knowledge from a familiar domain to an unfamiliar one even though it seems like it’s trivial to you – all sorts of people are allowed to use commercial services and expect reasonable accommodation. Honestly, I don’t even understand half the shit you just said, and I wouldn’t expect someone who’s never been exposed to an EV and is stupid etc to be able to deal with it on the fly while other stressful shit that happens when you travel is also going on.
Anyone who thinks even minor changes to a common user control system are easy should watch the average user when given a phone with a new OS for the first time and told to change a setting (lifetime iOS user -> android or vis versa).
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I love my Tesla… but it isn’t clear to new drivers where they can and can’t charge, without some research. I can easily see someone assuming it works like a gas station and that they are all interchangeable.
How can you claim it’s not clear where to charge?This may have been true years ago with older interface versions, but not in the current interface. At least not on the Model 3/Y with horizontal screens. Not sure how the S/X with the vertical screens and separate dash cluster change the interface. But the vehicle in the article is a Model 3.
Even if you ignore the dedicated supercharger button on the right of the map, which can be hidden, the screen literally shows the navigation search box ALL the time on top of the map. When you tap on it one of the top suggested options is for charging, even without having to type anything in, and shows you all the nearby superchargers.
Things that are intuitive for you are obviously not intuitive for people who have to watch a bunch of YouTube tutorials to understand how the car works.
I think it’s probably the case of it being intutive for them now that they’ve used it. Once one gets used to a process or device it becomes intitutive for them. So it can look strange when people who aren’t familar with said device are struggling. e.g. riding a bike is easy once you know how. At least that’s what it looks like to me.
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Even if you are completely right about everything being as simple as you say, nobody wakes up and says “gee, I’m going to be stupid/self-destructive/neurodivergent today and cause myself a lot of pain.”
The answer is to use it as a case study to improve the design or perhaps provide a leaflet, QR code to a PDF, or a laminated card to assist renters with controls that are safety critical or unique to the vehicle
You’d think someone so clearly dealing with massive social challenges would have more empathy, but perhaps that is part of his deficiency.
The Car: The battery is low please go to this place I’ve mapped out for you to charge up.
The driver: DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO
From the article:
“and a missing adapter for use at nearby chargers. The Tesla went dead as Liebau searched for a charging station,”
It sounds like they did try to charge it. It sounds like they couldn’t use the nearby charging locations without the adapter.