Tesla Now Offering 84-Month Financing Term

The interest rate is around 6.39 percent.

By: Andrew Lambrecht

Jul 24, 2023 at 8:42am ET

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Tesla is producing its vehicles at record rates. Despite maintaining high delivery numbers too, Tesla is beginning to sit on a lot of inventory. For the past several years, Tesla did not have many in-inventory vehicles, especially considering the Model 3 and Y. But now, delivery centers have a multitude of entries to select from.

To keep these vehicles moving, the Austin-based automaker has recently been employing a variety of incentives and discounts to get customers behind the wheel. For the more costly Model S and X vehicles, Tesla has been offering up to $7,500 off MSRP depending on the configuration. At specific locations, Model S sedans and X crossovers are as low as $82,000 and $92,000, respectively.

Model 3s have seen discounts too. Some delivery centers are offering inventory models for as low as $37,490. But not all of its incentives are price reductions. Recently, Tesla started a new financing term to capture more prospective customers to the brand with lower monthly rates.

Tesla's new financing term is for 84 months. Now, customers can take a seven-year loan to purchase a Tesla. Along with the extended term, buyers will see APRs of around 6.39%. The 6.39 percent is likely for well-qualified customers, as Tesla's website states, "Your payments and rates may be higher." Given this acknowledgment, buyers could see rates higher than the already steep 6.39 percent figure.

Considering the estimated rate, taking out a loan on a Tesla for this extended period will not be a financially advantageous stratagem. The popular $50,490 Model Y Dual Motor AWD is an excellent example for the loan calculation.

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If the buyer puts down Tesla's preselected $4,500 initial payment, the financed amount would be $47,380. At 6.39 percent interest, the monthly loan payment will be $703, not considering any potential incentives. After 84 months, the owner will have paid $59,052 in monthly payments, plus the $4,500 paid initially.

In total, the vehicle will cost a staggering $63,552. This is the downside of high-interest, long-term loans on any car. Nevertheless, for automakers, it does help to lower the monthly price for customers. The expense of long-term loans is owing significant interest and the possibility that one can become upside-down on their loans.