Update (3-13-13): Hsieh has clarified the Tesla ordeal, saying: "In the downtown project side of things, we are in the process of talking about possibly buying 100 Teslas. But to make the leap from that to saying we already bought 100 Teslas is like saying a startup that is looking to fundraise has already closed a round of financing. They are two completely different things."

Update (3-11-13): We reported this story after speaking with a VegasTechFund entrepreneur who seemed certain this had happened. But Hsieh tells us this is not the case. He says he has "never purchased a Tesla" and he is "not creating a car rental service."

After reviewing some recent Zappos press, it seems something is going on with Hsieh's company and the 100 Teslas though. He recently told The Atlantic, "We're adding bike sharing and car sharing. We're actually in the process of actually buying 100 Teslas and our goal is to actually get people to get rid of their cars in the car sharing program." We've contacted Hsieh for further clarification. We apologize for the errors that were printed initially.



Original Story: Tony Hsieh of Zappos, recently purchased 100 Teslas for the tech community he's building in downtown Las Vegas, Business Insider was told this afternoon.

Amazon bought Zappos for $1.2 billion, and Hsieh has spent a large chunk of his fortune building a tech scene from scratch in Nevada. He's created VegasTechFund to invest in startups provided they meet one condition: they must be based in Las Vegas.

A Vegas entrepreneur told us about Hsieh's flashy new purchase. Hsieh isn't giving his Vegas founders the cars. Instead, this person says he's creating a Car2Go or ZipCar-like rental service. The community will be able to rent and share the 100 Teslas instead of buying their own cars, so they don't have to worry about their own modes of transportation.

This person says Hsieh has also been eyeing Google's self-driving cars, but Elon Musk's Teslas will have to do in the meantime.

It's just one of the many perks Hsieh's team is offering entrepreneurs they lure to Vegas to build a great startup culture.

Below is a picture of Elon Musk with one of his electric cars.