Thanks to a new Propulsion version with a single electric motor, the Tesla Model Y price is less expensive in France than a Model 3. Let’s look at the financing options, leasing, and credit, to get the Model Y for less than 400 dollars per month.
A few days ago, Tesla created a surprise in France by unveiling a new version of its Model Y. it’s not a surprise since we knew this version was coming, but it’s more than The Tesla Model Y price starting that surprised us, to the point of making it one of the best value electric cars of this fall.
Indeed, the Model Y price, which is hierarchically above the Tesla Model 3 in the range, is lower than the latter, in this case, at a starting price of 49,990 dollars, excluding the 2,000-dollar environmental bonus.
Like many other manufacturers, Tesla offers financing as part of the purchase process. And since most cars today are financed by LOA (lease with option to buy), classic credits, or even by LLD (long-term rental), many customers are interested in this type of service that allows them to buy a high-end car without having to cut their savings in one fell swoop.
As you may know, unlike other manufacturers (although this is less and less the case), Tesla does not offer any promotion, and no negotiation is possible. Therefore, we played with the manufacturer’s financing simulator to reach monthly payments under 400 dollars per month. As we will see, the conditions are not so extravagant to reach this financing, especially for a rather high-end product.
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TESLA MODEL Y PRICE IS LESS THAN 400 DOLLARS PER MONTH
As mentioned above, this is the basic model, a rear-wheel drive model with a range of 455 km under the WLTP cycle. Thus, the Tesla Model Y propulsion proposed in our countries would make slightly less than 300 hp and benefit from a battery with a capacity of approximately 60 kWh. As usual at Tesla, the power and battery data are not officially communicated, but a quick look on the Internet will allow you to find them.
Since this is not a promotional offer, it is not a specific model either. So it’s possible if you want to stay under 400 dollars a month and opt for some nice options, like color or bigger rims. On the other hand, the few options offered by the Model Y are expensive, like the improved Autopilot for 3,800 dollars (which adds more than 60 dollars per month on monthly payments spread over 60 months) or the fully autonomous driving option for 7,500 dollars, which adds about 100 dollars on monthly payments.
For our purposes, we started with a basic Model Y, i.e., with the standard white paint and 19-inch wheels (the optional 20-inch wheels at 2,100 dollars reduce the range by about 20 km). Its basic equipment includes:
- A standard Autopilot.
- A Premium interior with heated front and rear seats.
- A heated steering wheel.
- A Premium audio system.
On the other hand, the maximum charging power is capped at 170 kW compared to 250 kW for the versions above. But since the battery is smaller, the 10 to 80 percent is similar, in about 30 minutes.
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WHAT ARE THE CONDITIONS?
As this is not an offer, we had to modulate with the simulation system on the Tesla website. And we manage, without too much difficulty and without too many concessions, to go under the 400 dollars per month without blowing up the contribution.
Long-term leasing was unavailable for this model at the time of writing, so we decided to lease with a purchase option for 60 months and 100,000 km or 20,000 km per year. This is much closer to reality than the 10,000 km per year offered by other manufacturers. With Tesla, it can go down to 10,000 km per year, reducing your monthly payments, but it will depend on your usage.
We started with a larger contribution than we usually see, as a premium model, with 12,000 dollars, which is reduced to 10,000 thanks to the 2,000-dollar ecological bonus. Here, the financing is not subject to the conversion bonus, which requires the scrapping of an old diesel or gasoline model and meeting a reference tax threshold.
In the end, we arrived at monthly payments of 386.41 dollars per month, over 60 months, and with 20,000 km per year.
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HOW MUCH WILL THE TESLA MODEL Y LEASE COST YOU?
Over a five-year lease with a purchase option, your Tesla Model Y will cost you 33,184.60 dollars. Tesla displays its car from 49,990 dollars on its website, with an ecological bonus of 2,000 dollars not deducted. Once the deductions are made, this gives us a model displayed at the list price of 47 990 dollars.
Based on this rate, you will pay 69.15% of the price of your car over the five-year lease period. As the offer is a lease and not a long-term lease, there is a buy-back option that you can choose to exercise or not. If you don’t exercise it, you will return the car to start again on a new model or not. Be careful with the cost of repairing the car, which can be expensive at the time of return. We advise you to do it beforehand at a body shop, which will cost you less than your dealer in general.
If you wish to exercise the purchase option, Tesla states from the outset that the final price of the car at the end of the financing and the exercise of the purchase option will be 55,294 dollars. Therefore, the purchase option is 22,109.40 dollars if you want to become the car’s final owner. So, if you do a quick calculation, your Tesla Model Y propulsion with a lease will cost you 7,304 dollars more than if you bought it with cash.
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SHOULD YOU CHOOSE THE LOA OR THE CLASSIC CREDIT?
Few customers buy their new car in cash. In most cases, these cars are financed either by a lease, a long-term rental, or a conventional loan. And what is more interesting than a classic credit?
Let’s start with Tesla’s captive bank, i.e., its financing organization (usually a traditional bank behind it) that also offers loans in addition to an LOA. Still, on the same basis of 60 months (Tesla can go up to 96 months on credit) and with a contribution of 10,000 dollars (12,000 dollars, minus the 2,000 dollars of bonus), we arrive at monthly payments of 674.05 dollars, excluding insurance.
On the face of it, it’s more expensive than a lease, but at the end of five years, the car is yours for good. And if you do a quick calculation, you will have paid 50 443 dollars at the end of the financing. The credit will cost you 2,453 dollars, almost 2.5 times less than the LOA.
Let’s go to a traditional bank, and even if the rates have increased in the last months, they are still interesting, especially if you buy an electric car. For example, there is surely a way to get more interesting monthly payments at Crédit Agricole, thanks to the “Auto Vert” loan and its APR of 1.990%.
Thus, by financing 37,990 dollars (with a contribution of 12,000 dollars, reduced to 10,000 dollars with the bonus of 2,000 dollars), still over 60 months, we arrive at monthly payments of 665.41 dollars without insurance. The total amount due is 39,924.60 dollars (the contribution is not included directly in the financing). The credit will have cost you 1,934.60 dollars, about 500 dollars less than the captive bank of Tesla and 3.5 times cheaper than the LOA.
It should be noted that, depending on the region, Crédit Agricole offers different rates for this financing, for example, 1.5% for customers in the Île-de-France region. More simply, the CIC offers a rate of 1.75% for financing an electric car at the national level.
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ELEMENTS TO REMEMBER
To summarize our explanations more briefly, we have summarized the three financings studied in a summary table.
| LOA | Tesla Credit | Bank credit | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Contribution 10 000 dollars |
10 000 dollars | 10 000 dollars | |
|
Kilometers driven 20 000 km/an |
No limit | No limit | |
|
Duration 60 mois |
60 mois | 60 mois | |
|
Monthly Payment 386,41 dollars |
674,05 dollars | 665,41 dollars | |
|
Purchase option 22 109,40 dollars |
No | No | |
|
Cost of financing 7 304 dollars |
2 453 dollars | 1 934,60 dollars | |
|
Total cost 55 294 dollars |
50 443 dollars | 49 934,60 dollars |
As you can see, from a purely financial point of view, the classic credit in a bank, in this case, Crédit Agricole and its “Auto Vert” offer, is the best solution. Its fixed APR is lower than Tesla’s loan, which means its monthly payments are also lower. They will never reach those of the LOA since the latter only finances 69.15% of the price of the car; the rest is paid at the end of the financing.
Overall, a lease is not a good deal, especially if you return the car at the end of the financing. It “simply” allows you to display the car at more competitive rates. The other side is that you must return the car several years later or exercise the purchase option. It is also possible to finance the purchase option later with a classic credit, but this will cost more because you will have to add financing after the financing.
A classic credit, despite its higher monthly payments, can be interesting, on the one hand, because some captives offer to go beyond 60 months and reduce the monthly payments even more. Still, it also allows you to own your car from the beginning to the end and resell it as you wish. Returning a lease during financing inevitably involves penalties. Especially since a Tesla Model Y should have an excellent residual value on resale, as second-hand cars are rare and demand is growing with the energy transition.
The LOA can be useful if you are not confident in the second-hand value of your car and you already know that you will resell it in a few years. With a lease, you know in advance the total cost of ownership (TCO) of the car. On the other hand, with cash or credit, you cannot know this price since it will depend on the vehicle’s resale value.