Lease A Tesla For $1,658/month; "Immediate Delivery"

Paul Niedermeyer
by Paul Niedermeyer

Does the headline suggest that Tesla Roadster production has caught up with demand? And that Tesla is joining the ranks of other automobile makers, in offering leases? Looks that way.

But before you head down to your nearest Tesla store, better read the fine print and get out your calculator. Or we could just do it for you: Including a $12,453 down payment at signing, total cost for the three years amount to $70,483. And that doesn’t include a 25 cent per mile charge for mileage in excess of 30k miles. If you drive 16k miles per year, more typical for Silicon Valley, throw in an additional $4,500. And after three years, you pay a $350 fee or purchase it, at an undisclosed price. Here’s the balm: Tesla says “fuel costs cost savings compared to a similar gas powered car could be $131 per month”.

Paul Niedermeyer
Paul Niedermeyer

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 7 comments
  • Ion Ion on Feb 25, 2010

    Is 10,000 miles a year normal for a 3 year lease?

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    • JeremyR JeremyR on Feb 25, 2010

      Yes, the mileage allowances on leases are generally on the low side of what Americans are estimated to drive per year. One potential advantage to leasing is that if a personally leased car is used for business purposes, a percentage of the lease can be written off; the accounting for this is pretty simple.

  • Kurt B Kurt B on Feb 25, 2010

    I would lease one for exactly one month.

  • Zerofoo Zerofoo on Feb 25, 2010

    Spending dollars to save pennies. Clearly, leasing a Tesla is not done to save money on gas.

  • Meefer Meefer on Feb 25, 2010

    3 year lease or purchase of a brand new Exige S 260? I think the MSRP is $75K, but you could at least sell it at the end of the 3 years and still pocket $40K-ish. You'd only use about $100 a month on gas if you stick to 10K miles a year.

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