They exist, but not as prevalently as Strats, Les Pauls, SGs, Flying Vs and Explorers.
I’d say in hard and heavy rock about as frequent as Firebirds?
I know of Page’s Whole Lotta Love solo Tele of course, but did Clapton use a Tele with Cream much? Post-Cream I wouldn’t rate him as a hard rocker and my hunch is that he wouldn’t either. I see his whole post-Cream career as a quest to morph from hard rock guitar god to respected singer/songwriter who also plays well guitar, but in a way serving the song. That said, Layla is probably a hard rock song …
Townshend was of course another hard rock’ish Tele shape player for a while, that Schecter Tele he began using in the 80ies.
Anyway, I was not implying that a Tele can’t work in a heavy environment (one listen to the orgastic Whole Lotta Love solo disproves that), just that they are rare for likely visual reasons. Picture Paul Stanley with a Tele, it doesn’t work.
As regards the Ric hollow body guitars, however, it seems safe to assume that their scarcity in trad. hard rock/heavy metal has to do with their sonics not really lending themselves to that type of music. And it’s not just the hollow body aspect, Blackmore played his solo on Child In Time with an ES-335 and used it live as late as still 1969/70, Alvin immortalized himself at Woodstock with an ES-335 too and then there is always Uncle Ted’s Byrdland. But Speed King, I’m Going Home or Stranglehold with a Rickenbacker 330? I have my doubts.