this post was submitted on 07 May 2025
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Tesla is already offering low 1.99% financing on six-year loans for customers looking to buy the $48,990 long-range, all-wheel-drive Model Y, the series production version of the newer car that debuted in early April. Gone are the days when Tesla had to keep hiking prices to avoid being hopelessly swamped by demand. Now CEO Elon Musk has to fight for every new customer.

Just weeks after the launch of the Model Y refresh, a slightly newer version of the five-year-old crossover, Tesla informed buyers on Sunday they can already have the car at a discounted financing rate. Interested buyers can qualify for a six-year loan at 1.99% if they put down $3,999 for the purchase of a long-range all-wheel-drive version. By contrast, financing rates for some of Tesla’s upscale models top 6%.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

I'm not sure why anyone expected a new facelift would improve sales. It's clear the overall decline is associated with Musk going full mask-off fascist, given this, driving around in a car that looks unlike any previous Model Y just makes it completely obvious that you knew this and decided to buy one anyway. If they want to bolster sales, maybe they should have kept producing the pre-facelifted versions for a while.

Full disclosure, I used to own a Model 3. I had it for 5 years and was generally very happy with it - it was a great daily driver, cost very little to run and maintain, and (aside from a few issues later in my ownership, which was one of the reasons I decided to sell it) in general it was very easy to live with.

There are clearly some very skilled engineers at Tesla who know how to build a great product. It is a shame their efforts are being undermined by a fascist lunatic with a narcissist complex.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

aside from a few issues later in my ownership, which was one of the reasons I decided to sell it

I'm curious, what kind of issues did you face?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago)

The main issue was a catastrophic failure of the VC_FRONT module which is one of the critical onboard computers that manages things like the 12v battery and low voltage power distribution (basically a "smart" fuse box). Without it the car is bricked and cannot be driven.

That took several weeks and some back and forth around the extended warranty to resolve, and then even after that module was replaced, on my first drive after the repair it went straight into limp mode and then spent another week at the service centre having that diagnosed.

During this time I decided it might be time to start looking for a new car, ended up selling it a few months later and took delivery of a new Polestar 2.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 hours ago

"But the low sales numbers were just potential buyers delaying their purchase, because the new Model Y will release soon."

Safe to say that we finally have evidence that people weren't delaying. It's also not the car either, the car is fine and very competitive. I drive a Model 3 and I drove a couple competitor cars, therefore I know Tesla is up there with the competition. That is Volkswagen, Toyota and the large volume brands, I don't view Tesla as a luxury brand like BMW and Mercedes though.

So what else is there? I'd wager having a Nazi as CEO doesn't help sales at all. I'm in a mid class bubble in The Netherlands where many in my bubble can afford or even actively looked at purchasing a Tesla, all of them say the same thing: I do not support Nazi's and by extension try to buy as little US made products as I can. This is the same customer base that 5 years ago would definitely have bought a Tesla in a heartbeat. Tesla will continue to lose with Musk at the helm.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (1 children)

I'm constantly floored that institutional investors are keeping the TSLA stock price from cratering. They dont think of the pressures on the brand like we do. I think they are pricing in future patronage by trump.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 hours ago

i suspect PUTIN/msb/qataris are sitll keeping the stocks afloat too.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

If you gave me a Model Y for free, I'd take it to the junkyard and have it crushed, just to make sure no one drives that shit.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 17 hours ago (2 children)

Just seeing a Tesla reminds me of the arrogance of musk saying he "deleted" jobs. The choice of words tells you what he thinks of us.

Eff him. Never again.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Yep, he killed the brand. He probably doesn't care in the end. But everyone working for Telsa will.

If Musk really cared about Telsa he would have never sided with a Republican lol.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 hours ago

i think he only released the truck because he needed to show the board/shareholders hes worth that 56billion package hes been eyeing since '18

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 13 hours ago

Don't live in the US, but you'd probably have to pay me to be seen driving one of those. I can afford not to and dignity has a price

[–] [email protected] 23 points 19 hours ago (11 children)

50k is way too expensive for a car in 2025.

BYD sells theirs for 12k.

Bring them to the US or compete you fucking nepobaby fascists.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 hours ago

Prices in China:

BYD Atto 3: 16k USD.
BYD Seal: 25k USD.
Tesla 3: 32k USD.

Prices in Germany:

BYD Atto 3: 33k USD.
BYD Seal: 45k USD.
Tesla 3: 46k USD.

Comparing prices like you do just looks like bad faith. And I'm not saying this to support Tesla but to highlight that there is some serious BYD shilling going on here.

You want Tesla to compete? I guess the US already has prison slave labour and reduced safety measures for Teslas, it's just missing some billions of US tax money flowing in and you got what you wished for.

Not a good idea? But China doing exactly that is OK, because US bad equals China good?

Maybe putting tariffs on chinese imported EVs (like the EU does) is the reasonable thing to do to protect your own industry and jobs.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 18 hours ago

A swastikar will park in front of my house when I get groceries on Sunday and I HATE IT. I don't want anyone thinking that's our dumpster or going to vandalize it and accidentally hit my sweet cute lil car. 🤬

[–] [email protected] 6 points 16 hours ago

$3k, $5k, $20k. What's democracy mean to you?

I say let's make him the next Juliani.

[–] [email protected] 179 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (17 children)

It's actually kind of tragic. Tesla would have been, no, should have been a key domestic EV maker. They should have been our global offering in a strategically important industry. But instead, they're rapidly becoming a pariah. And it's all because of one man. One terrible, terrible man.

This is a very, very important lesson that America MUST learn: just because someone is rich, that does not mean they are smart, or good, or trustworthy. Personality matters, a lot. I am certain that if Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning could go back, they would tell Mr. Musk "no thank you, we're not interested in your investment," even though they really needed the money. It wasn't worth it, it came with strings attached. Within just a few years of taking Musk's money, both men were forced out of the company, and Musk was well on his way to convincing millions of Americans that we was a super genius who singlehandedly invented the electric car.

In this country, we have not only tolerated megalomaniacal narcissists like Musk, we've celebrated them. That has to stop. Look at where it has gotten us. One of them is president now! If we don't learn from this, and start to see men like Trump and Musk as the disease that they are, we are doomed. If we don't get these men under control, they will control us.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 hours ago

teslas have always been defective, its only because Elon was able to market it better.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Offering low interest rate finance is not a “discount” lol

[–] [email protected] 10 points 17 hours ago (4 children)

Yes it is. Low interest rates are literally a discount on high interest. Lower interest reduces the overall cost of the loan by a shitload.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 16 hours ago

Interest is an increase in price*. Lower interest isn't a discount, it's a smaller increase. Calling it a discount is like punching you instead of stabbing you and calling it nonviolence.

*In exchange for better payment conditions, but that's not relevant to the point.

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[–] [email protected] 44 points 1 day ago (4 children)

“car company discounts car” is not a news story. “Fucking Nazi car company discounts car” sort of is.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 19 hours ago

The only reason I'd be caught driving a tesla is if it had a completely true bumper sticker that said "I bought it after he blew his brains out."

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