In a bid to increase first quarter profit, Tesla Motors has added lease-style financing for its Model S. According to a Tesla statement, program partners U.S. Bancorp and Wells Fargo & Co. will be providing customers with 10% of the purchase price. They will be reimbursed through a $7,500 U.S. tax credit and state incentives. The company’s website reveals that monthly payments under the offer are as low as $500.
“Just factoring in stuff that’s true out of pocket, you can buy the 60-kilowatt Model S for $400 or $500 a month, net cash out of pocket,” said Tesla’s Elon Musk. “I consider gasoline to be a tangible cost.”
Musk added that though the financing plan is a 66-month loan with a 2.95% interest rate, customers will be able to resell their car to Tesla after a three-year lease. The Model S has a base price of $69,900 before the tax credit. Musek explains that the company’s program makes the car “affordable to a much broader audience than people think is usually the case.”