Tesla is already offering low 1.99% financing on six-year loans for customers looking to buy the $48,990 long-range, all-wheel-drive Model Y, the series production version of the newer car that debuted in early April. Gone are the days when Tesla had to keep hiking prices to avoid being hopelessly swamped by demand. Now CEO Elon Musk has to fight for every new customer.
Just weeks after the launch of the Model Y refresh, a slightly newer version of the five-year-old crossover, Tesla informed buyers on Sunday they can already have the car at a discounted financing rate. Interested buyers can qualify for a six-year loan at 1.99% if they put down $3,999 for the purchase of a long-range all-wheel-drive version. By contrast, financing rates for some of Tesla’s upscale models top 6%.
I’m not sure why anyone expected a new facelift would improve sales. It’s clear the overall decline is associated with Musk going full mask-off fascist, given this, driving around in a car that looks unlike any previous Model Y just makes it completely obvious that you knew this and decided to buy one anyway. If they want to bolster sales, maybe they should have kept producing the pre-facelifted versions for a while.
Full disclosure, I used to own a Model 3. I had it for 5 years and was generally very happy with it - it was a great daily driver, cost very little to run and maintain, and (aside from a few issues later in my ownership, which was one of the reasons I decided to sell it) in general it was very easy to live with.
There are clearly some very skilled engineers at Tesla who know how to build a great product. It is a shame their efforts are being undermined by a fascist lunatic with a narcissist complex.
aside from a few issues later in my ownership, which was one of the reasons I decided to sell it
I’m curious, what kind of issues did you face?
The main issue was a catastrophic failure of the VC_FRONT module which is one of the critical onboard computers that manages things like the 12v battery and low voltage power distribution (basically a “smart” fuse box). Without it the car is bricked and cannot be driven.
That took several weeks and some back and forth around the extended warranty to resolve, and then even after that module was replaced, on my first drive after the repair it went straight into limp mode and then spent another week at the service centre having that diagnosed.
During this time I decided it might be time to start looking for a new car, ended up selling it a few months later and took delivery of a new Polestar 2.
“But the low sales numbers were just potential buyers delaying their purchase, because the new Model Y will release soon.”
Safe to say that we finally have evidence that people weren’t delaying. It’s also not the car either, the car is fine and very competitive. I drive a Model 3 and I drove a couple competitor cars, therefore I know Tesla is up there with the competition. That is Volkswagen, Toyota and the large volume brands, I don’t view Tesla as a luxury brand like BMW and Mercedes though.
So what else is there? I’d wager having a Nazi as CEO doesn’t help sales at all. I’m in a mid class bubble in The Netherlands where many in my bubble can afford or even actively looked at purchasing a Tesla, all of them say the same thing: I do not support Nazi’s and by extension try to buy as little US made products as I can. This is the same customer base that 5 years ago would definitely have bought a Tesla in a heartbeat. Tesla will continue to lose with Musk at the helm.
If you gave me a Model Y for free, I’d take it to the junkyard and have it crushed, just to make sure no one drives that shit.
I’m constantly floored that institutional investors are keeping the TSLA stock price from cratering. They dont think of the pressures on the brand like we do. I think they are pricing in future patronage by trump.
i suspect PUTIN/msb/qataris are sitll keeping the stocks afloat too.
Don’t live in the US, but you’d probably have to pay me to be seen driving one of those. I can afford not to and dignity has a price
$3k, $5k, $20k. What’s democracy mean to you?
I say let’s make him the next Juliani.
No thanks Leon Hitler, you can shove your vehicles where the sun does not shine. I will stick with my Leaf and it will not burn down my garage.
Just seeing a Tesla reminds me of the arrogance of musk saying he “deleted” jobs. The choice of words tells you what he thinks of us.
Eff him. Never again.
Yep, he killed the brand. He probably doesn’t care in the end. But everyone working for Telsa will.
If Musk really cared about Telsa he would have never sided with a Republican lol.
i think he only released the truck because he needed to show the board/shareholders hes worth that 56billion package hes been eyeing since '18
Same. I look at all them in disgust.
Lol
A swastikar will park in front of my house when I get groceries on Sunday and I HATE IT. I don’t want anyone thinking that’s our dumpster or going to vandalize it and accidentally hit my sweet cute lil car. 🤬
Offering low interest rate finance is not a “discount” lol
Yes it is. Low interest rates are literally a discount on high interest. Lower interest reduces the overall cost of the loan by a shitload.
I’m really not sure you understand how discounts work. Or interest rates.
Tesla’s do not come with interest. Interest that you get by taking out a loan to purchase one is a price increase. You’re paying more. A lower interest rate doesn’t mean you’re getting a discount, it just means that you’re only paying a smaller amount increase. The car itself is still the same price it was before - what is changing is how much extra interest you’re repaying on top of the cars price. The interest isn’t on the car’s price, it’s on the amount of money you borrowed.
You’re just playing semantics. Lots of customers finance cars. Before the “discount” they had to pay $X/month, now they pay $(X-discount)/month. They literally pay less each month because of the discounted, subsidized rates. It’s a discount for folks that finance through Tesla. I’m not sure why you think you’re the only person that understands the simple concept of interest here. You’ve just decided that the definition of discount only applies to MSRP arbitrarily. Is a point of sale tax credit not a discount either?
You’re just playing semantics.
I’m playing semantics? I’m not the one saying that a lower interest rate is a discount. An interest rate is by itself a price increase, not a discount. The interest rate is on the LOAN, not on the car. The car is the same price as it was. The LOAN is always more than the price of the car.
This is like saying that you get a “discount” if you pay the RRP in cash. You don’t, you’re just not paying interest on a loan. It’s not a discount.
I’m not sure why you think you’re the only person that understands the simple concept of interest here.
Because you guys calling this a “discount on the price of the new model Y” clearly don’t lol. It is a simple concept, yet you guys are showing again and again that you don’t get it. When interest rates on mortgage decrease you don’t say “house prices have just been discounted!”, do you?
Interest is an increase in price*. Lower interest isn’t a discount, it’s a smaller increase. Calling it a discount is like punching you instead of stabbing you and calling it nonviolence.
*In exchange for better payment conditions, but that’s not relevant to the point.
The only reason I’d be caught driving a tesla is if it had a completely true bumper sticker that said “I bought it after he blew his brains out.”
50k is way too expensive for a car in 2025.
BYD sells theirs for 12k.
Bring them to the US or compete you fucking nepobaby fascists.
Prices in China:
BYD Atto 3: 16k USD.
BYD Seal: 25k USD.
Tesla 3: 32k USD.Prices in Germany:
BYD Atto 3: 33k USD.
BYD Seal: 45k USD.
Tesla 3: 46k USD.Comparing prices like you do just looks like bad faith. And I’m not saying this to support Tesla but to highlight that there is some serious BYD shilling going on here.
You want Tesla to compete? I guess the US already has prison slave labour and reduced safety measures for Teslas, it’s just missing some billions of US tax money flowing in and you got what you wished for.
Not a good idea? But China doing exactly that is OK, because US bad equals China good?
Maybe putting tariffs on chinese imported EVs (like the EU does) is the reasonable thing to do to protect your own industry and jobs.
I mean… if you want a 12k car you can have a 12k car, but don’t expect it to be as good as a 50k car, even if the 50k car is only as good as a 40k car.
Edit: But also the new Y RWD is going for like 38k after rebates, so it’s not even a 50k car.
A Tesla probably has more issues out of the factory than my 2001 RWD Toyota Tacoma which is rust bitten because it was owned by a water company on the coast. That is to say a Tesla is barely worth its weight in scrap.
I’d say it really depends on the factory here. I’ve heard some very bad things about the US-based ones though
Most of its issues are design and engineering related. Over use of computer systems and a fucky if functional body being the most obvious issues, then there’s the fact that I’m pretty sure they allow way to much power into the battery. Those three things alone are enough for me to question its worth since if one fails the others won’t help, let alone shit like the doors.
28k value at best. It’s a damn Tesla not some spaceship with the ability to be your housewife.
You think a Tesla is only as good as top trim Corolla sedan?
Edit: To be clear, I’m not knocking the Corolla, it’s a great car.
Well the Corolla will be built better, for sure.
What can a Tesla do that a BYD can’t?
OP was talking about a 12k BYD vehicle.
If you want to get a similarly priced BYD you can get similar features, but in terms of that 12k car OP wants
A model 3/Y has
bigger battery (more range)
better sound system
more HP/Torque
more storage capacity
more airbags
multi zone climate control
bigger touch screen
I’m sure the list goes on and on. You get what you pay for.
Edit: I think the BYD Seal is the model 3 competitor in price/features.
I’ll continue to drive mine. I’ll get a used one once I drive this one into the ground.
If you want to make political stance and go for inferior car? Go right ahead. I don’t give a shit what some CEO does. I’m sure all of you stopped playing blizzard games and avoid everything owned by nestle and for sure aren’t recommending cars running literal slaves camps, right???
What a weird thing to say! It must be fun living in your goof troop world with the other morally bankrupt incels.
Do you lie to women and say, “I’m not interested in politics”?
You sound like an insufferable loser. Are you also terrible at video games?
Inferior car? Tesla has some of the weakest reliability metrics in the industry which is shocking considering electric drivetrains are far more reliable than ICE.
Modern electric car manufacturing has far surpassed what Tesla can provide at any price point (range, reliability, comfort, you name it) unless you still believe FSD is coming in “just 2 more years bro, and it’ll be free and backwards compatible”
That’s why Tesla has the most cars on the road, the best efficiency, one of the best safety ratings and has countless of people getting +200k miles on them, right? If only we had all these exmples…
You’re gonna pull one of two things, random examples of defect, because no other car has does or BUT CYBERTRUCK THO???
So which one is it?
None of those. I don’t disagree that they USED TO BE the best electric cars.
But that’s in the past. There are very few markets where Tesla has the most market share anymore in 2025. It’s not just because of protests, they’re just not that great compared to the competition anymore. The trend has been worsening for years and Tesla hasn’t brought anything new to counter it.
As I said in my other comment. I’ve tried so many other cars… Unless there’s a car I’m not aware of / got no access to, I strongly disagree. Tesla didn’t release any major updates and they’re still ahead.
Well, I strongly disagree. The metric for complaints and outright hostile customer treatment from Tesla is far larger for any competitor. Even taking into account how many cara they sell. I tries an model 3 and a Y and they did not feel superior to the Kia EV6, Mustang eMach, Hyundai iOniq 5 or tbe ID4, and I did not even look at Chinese cars, or what you call premium from MB, BMW or Audi. I am looking forward to the Mazda e6 and the Ioniq 9 tbh. I have had a Mazda6 2.2L estate for years as a second car and have been satisfied with the performance.
Why are you already committed to buying a used Tesla, years before your current one dies? Why make this comment at all?
Because I’ve test driven what’s out there right now. Nothing comes close to my old Tesla and I’m not going to buy a new car from a different brand when used model 3 of the current models will be better value.
People genuinely are ignorant to how advanced the Tesla system is vs the competition. I’m very fortunate to live in dealership hotspot and I’ve driven plenty. Be it byd, kia, Hyundai, Volvo, polestar, mg etc. (Fun thing to do over weekend to kill an hour).
Tesla’s from 2018 are genuinely better than competitors coming out right now. You add the better battery and heat pump from 2021 and your efficiency is basically as good as it gets. I’ve driven enough in my car to understand what makes for a good “range”. It’s all about that efficiency. The latest model 3 is a minor improvement, but still one I’ll happily upgrade to in 5 years time or so when I get close to 170k miles.
But hey, that cybertruck! Or earlier models panel gaps! It’s such useless noise bashing what is the best car anywhere near that price.
Maybe Merc’s, lucid and Rivian have it beat, but they aren’t available here or more than double the cost…
I hope it makes sense. I get outrage at Musk coming from valid places, but I’m not letting a twat ruin something for me. He has more money that god, me buying used car has next to no impact. So why bother?
This comment reads like aggressive cope
“car company discounts car” is not a news story. “Fucking Nazi car company discounts car” sort of is.
new headline:
“proven nazi, elon musk, discounts overpriced cars to make people forget he’s a nazi”
But they didn’t discount the car, just the finance rate, so yeah, not a news story.
People that finance literally will pay less each month for the car. I don’t understand the semantics game here to avoid calling this a “discount”. If you pay less each month it’s ok to call it a discount. I’d argue neither scenario justifies a news story, but the Tesla demand cliff is trendy (justifiably so of course, fuck Nazis) so here we are.
If they use in-house financing (which most car companies do) they’re still losing money overall. And it is indicative that they’re feeling the squeeze so that’s nice to know.
