Tesla is now offering lease-purchase – after it says it will keep the cars as robotaxis

Tesla has begun offering leases on all of its vehicles, allowing Tesla lease customers to purchase their vehicle at the end of the lease term. But this represents a step back from its previous ambitions for an autonomous car.

In yet another week-end (well, at least in the US, because of Thanksgiving) Tesla news release, Tesla updated its web page on end-of-lease options to explain a new option for Tesla tenants: the ability to buy a car at the end of your lease term.

The new policy applies to all Tesla vehicles, including the Cybertruck, Model S, Model 3, Model X and Model Y, starting today, November 27, 2024 (though not in Iowa or Louisiana). Third-party sellers are allowed to purchase vehicles, and there is a $350 purchase fee.

Many other companies offer the same thing, with owners taking a lease as a “trial period” before buying a car. There are also potential financial benefits – for example, leasing makes it easier to get the US EV tax credit, and as a result some companies that don't qualify for the purchase credit have created unique insta-buyout leasing options to take advantage of this. different.

But Tesla hasn't offered this option for a long time. Ever since the Model 3 began leasing, Tesla said it would lease not allow the purchase of leases at the end of the term, and instead that it will retain the ownership of the cars and put them to work in a huge fleet of robots, taking advantage of Tesla's Full Self-Driving technology.

But that didn't just apply to the Model 3, as Tesla is ending sales of all models in 2022, after previously offering them to the Model S/X. This has come at a strange time in the new car market, with a number of cars facing price increases due to supply disruptions related to COVID, but it is also in line with Tesla's previous ambitions and statements about wanting to keep autonomous robotic fleet vehicles.

Needless to say, this did not turn out the way Tesla had hoped. Tesla's Full Self-Driving capability, despite being promised “next year” every year for nearly a decade, has yet to be fully self-driving.

So this change could represent a setback for Tesla's autonomous car ambitions. Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, has previously said that their cars will become luxury goods due to their ability to use autonomous robotaxis. The theory is, you can send your car to pick up passengers and drive them around, earning you money on the side if you don't use the car in any other way.

Because of this, Musk even said that Tesla will stop selling cars once it solves its autonomy, because it will be able to make more money by providing autonomous rides than by selling cars.

Since then, Tesla has moved away from talking about its regular cars as a potential robot to offer a different robotaxi product, in the form of the Cybercab, which was unveiled last month. Although Musk also said during the unveiling that some of Tesla's cars will still be used as robots (well, most of them anyway).

That product has to go out within two years, which means any 3-year lease that starts today will expire. after Tesla has solved self-driving – if you take their word for it. If that's the case, starting a lease-purchase option today wouldn't make sense if you're sure they can be used as a robot in less than three years.

So it's hard to think of this news as anything other than a setback to Tesla's self-driving plans. If it's true that Tesla thinks cars can make as much money as a robot, and it's true that Tesla thinks it's going to solve self-driving in the next two years, why would Tesla suddenly start allowing purchases it says it won't make directly because of those two things?

So – either Tesla thinks he won't be able to make much money with robotaxis, or he thinks he won't be able to solve the self-driving problem before today's lease terms expire.

Of course, there's another explanation – Tesla just wants to end this strong quarter. The company has already pulled several levels of demand recently, with 0% financing, low lease rates, and a fourth FSD “one-time” transfer plan as it tries to recover from a bad start to the year. It is one of the few EV companies whose sales are down year-to-date as the rest of the industry continues to grow, and it is trying to finish the year in good agreement with sales compared to 2023.

There is some work to be done to participate, so it is not surprising to see the necessary levers being pulled. Still, this change doesn't match Tesla's self-driving ambitions — and that's notable.

If you're looking to take advantage of Tesla's new lease purchase policy, you can use our Tesla referral code for up to $36/mo off your lease, or up to $2,000 off your purchase (depending on vehicle).