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Tesla's big announce: lease program?
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Yep, that was the big announcement. See: Link to Press Release
After 36 months, you have the right, but not the obligation to sell your Model S to Tesla for the same residual value percentage as the iconic Mercedes S Class, one of the finest premium sedans in the world, made by Daimler (also a Tesla partner and investor).
Not only is Tesla guaranteeing that resale value, but Tesla CEO Elon Musk is personally standing behind that guarantee to give customers absolute peace of mind about the value of the asset they are purchasing.
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Meh. Nice, but we knew it was coming. Don't think it deserved this much hype.
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The $500/month lease payment is a crock of sh!t. Go explore the website and you'll soon learn that the actual lease payments for 85kwh version is $1,199 and for the 85 Perf is $1,421. Then, they use all sorts of voodoo math to crank the number down to $500.
Some of the 'math' is real, easy to quantify stuff but a lot of it is pie in the sky "If you saved 5 minutes a day going to work in the HOV lane, that would be worth like $167/month in savings". C'mon.
They have always been misleading on pricing. For instance, they always show the MSRP of their cars (when building online) with the Fed Tax Credit already baked in. Very slippery.
Some of the 'math' is real, easy to quantify stuff but a lot of it is pie in the sky "If you saved 5 minutes a day going to work in the HOV lane, that would be worth like $167/month in savings". C'mon.
They have always been misleading on pricing. For instance, they always show the MSRP of their cars (when building online) with the Fed Tax Credit already baked in. Very slippery.
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Agreed. Fuzzy math at best. Big letdown. I'm more so annoyed at myself for even thinking Tesla would actually follow through on a promise to "wow".
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The Mercedes S-class has the 4th worst residual (top 3 are commercial vans). Tesla has crossed the threshold from getting the benefit of the doubt to taking advantage of customers. This is nothing more than a money grab with snake oil salesman terms. Every single finance product that TSLA has aims to screw the customer worse than other car manufacturers. This is bad news for those of us who bought our Model S. This means our car will probably have one of the lowest residuals of any car in its class.
A bit OT but TSLA is the only car manufacturer that I am aware of that doesn't give a standard warranty on CPO cars. The only way you can get a warranty is if the vehicle previously has a portion of the warranty remaining when purchased. The next TSLA "finance product" will be cash for gold or Tesla pawn perhaps.
A bit OT but TSLA is the only car manufacturer that I am aware of that doesn't give a standard warranty on CPO cars. The only way you can get a warranty is if the vehicle previously has a portion of the warranty remaining when purchased. The next TSLA "finance product" will be cash for gold or Tesla pawn perhaps.
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I'm trying to see the bright side in this. So if Elon is personally guaranteeing a buyback, then I'd assume he'd have to guarantee the warranty as well. Which means he'll keep the service centers open - even in the face of poor sales. The cars have to be maintained or he'd wind up with Teslas on trucks backed up for miles.
Bottom line: Elon's personal support of the brand is a net positive for the thousands of current owners. But unless there is some provision to grandfather those current owners into a similar buyback plan, I'm afraid this positive point will be lost on the early adopters.
Bottom line: Elon's personal support of the brand is a net positive for the thousands of current owners. But unless there is some provision to grandfather those current owners into a similar buyback plan, I'm afraid this positive point will be lost on the early adopters.
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The residual value of a Tesla is an interesting subject. There are no Tesla models on Kelley Blue Book (it's not even listed as a brand) so that's probably why a Mercedes S Class was used instead. But the results as depicted in Forbes is not a great selling point for someone doing their homework:
Cars That Lose Their Value Fastest
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Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Trim: S65 Sedan
MSRP: $205,025
Percent of total value retained after 24 months: 36%
Percent of total value retained after 36 months: 28%
Percent of total value retained after 48 months: 22%
Percent of total value retained after 60 months: 16%
Cars That Lose Their Value Fastest
Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Trim: S65 Sedan
MSRP: $205,025
Percent of total value retained after 24 months: 36%
Percent of total value retained after 36 months: 28%
Percent of total value retained after 48 months: 22%
Percent of total value retained after 60 months: 16%
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996 Posts
Not to mention the cost of a battery replacement after 8 years as well as diminishing range as the vehicle ages. It is surprising that Elon did not tie the residual to a solid value (shows that he may have some reservations about the resale value of these cars and that it is a safer bet to tie it to a car that has had a history of a low residual).
Would have been nice if he had done something to guarantee capacity for existing owners.
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