Tesla now allowing buy out at end of lease for ALL new leases for ALL cars and CT

[r/cybertruck](https://www.reddit.com/r/cybertruck/) is now private. If you are unable to find it, here is a link to it. As we are not a support sub, please make sure to use the proper resources if you have questions: [Official Tesla Support](https://www.tesla.com/support), [r/TeslaSupport](https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaSupport/) | [r/TeslaLounge](https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaLounge/) personal content | [Discord Live Chat](https://discord.gg/tesla) for anything. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/teslamotors) if you have any questions or concerns.*

[deleted]

Cool

My exact thought. Going all out before tax credit ends. Do the math though because the RWD model 3 is like 42K by this method.

Why would anyone buy this disposable car? Lease it and give it back

Debating doing 3 year lease instead of the 0% for model Y. Can decide to buy or change to jumper after it’s done..

not just new cars. preexesting leases are now eligible for buyout as well

It does not say NEW leases, so I guess existing ones are eligible too.

All mass manufactured cars are disposable by that logic

I ddi the math and it's 42K for RWD for all costs if you by AT lease end.

yep, saw this AFTER, thanks for clarifying

correct, both new and current

plough zealous toothbrush stupendous water aware wipe glorious ancient pocket *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev/home)*

They figured out they can't cheaply convert on the old leases to cybercabs.

depends on your rate now (could be 0.99) vs rate you'd get in 2027.

Problem is that one gets disposed much sooner than others

So essentially the same price it is now? Hmm tempting.

They didn't allow a buy out? Isn't that how an auto lease works?

As a Highland owner who’s driven older 3s and Ys, I definitely think you want Juniper.

Why do they do this?

This is the official word With a lease buyout, you can purchase your vehicle at the end of the lease. Starting November 27, 2024, all leased vehicles are eligible for purchase. Eligibility Starting November 27, 2024, all leased Cybertruck, Model S, Model 3, Model X and Model Y vehicles are eligible for purchase. Third-party dealerships are eligible to purchase leased vehicles. Note: Iowa and Louisiana are not eligible for lease buyout.

Demand lever.

Curious, do you have data on that?

How soon can you do it

starting today, 11/27/24

I mean how long does the lease need to be before you can buy it out. I am only interested to skirt the income limit for the $7.5k credit. Other autos you can essentially lease and maybe pay $500-1000 in fees to buy it out and the manufacturer takes 7.5k off because a lease doesn’t have income limits.

Of course not, either an EV hater or a Musk hater. Either way trolls should be ignored.

They were like one of the only auto manufacturers that’s had the restriction. This is great news.

They did originally but were finding that they had been increasing in value. So they changed it where you had to give the car back and Tesla would sell them. Then the values tanked and now they are losing money.

Can someone explain this?

I hope this also applies to 3rd party leases like Santander.

In fine print it says to contact them. It appears like it probably does

Does the $7500 tax credit apply to leases as well?

Indirectly, sort of. The lease for the Y and 3 is $299/month with 3k down for 3 years and 10k miles

Ah so they finally convinced Elon that a bunch of old Teslas won’t be able to become a robotaxi fleet.

Honestly made no sense that they weren't doing this, just made the competitors $7500 cheaper for people to buy since they could lease it to get the $7500 then buy it out even if they didn't qualify for the purchase incentive.

To sell more cars.

or don’t want to hold as much used inventory as it’s harder to move

Cybercabs have different/better hardware. It was never going to work.

I JUST returned mine end of September...ugggh!

Tesla is no joke really good at pulling demand levers. For example - do I buy right now? Or will they pull a 3rd demand lever in December to really blow out their numbers?

Yea - I leased mine Sep 2021 to Sep 2024. They originally kept pushing back the option to buy out the lease, then they never extended and now I got shafted. I guess in the end the newer models are cheaper than in 2021, so I've only paid 1/3 of the $65k performance model, via that lease.

So good to see.

are you saying that someone who wasn't income-eligible for the $7500 direct buy credit WOULD be eligible for a $7500 lease buyout credit or something?

They thought, or at least said publicly, that HW3 was good enough for robo taxis

Yes. Kia has been advertising it

Yea Tesla is not passing through the 7500 from what I see

Sad

Do a little pleading, you never know. Report back if success

Yes. The bank is always eligible.

[deleted]

Kind of doubt it for something like this. That car has already been re-inventoried.

Does this include Canada?

The newer 3s and Ys are much closer to the refresh than the older ones. I have a 23’ 3 and it wasn’t that significant of a change to me. Very subjective of course.

Why would a company do this? Anyone know?

About time

I’m in a similar situation, got my Model 3 lease through Tesla and now realize it’s serviced by a third party (Santander). They don’t allow buyouts or even transfers, which is annoying. Tesla should make it clear when you lease a car from them and they aren’t going to be servicing the lease.

[deleted]

Good luck, I hope they give you that option!

Essentially all manufacturers do this. It has always been a question of why DOESNT Tesla allow a buyout.

in a lease? you can buy your car

THIS^^^^^^^^^^^

I just picked up mine today! Let’s hope the lease buy out option is still around in three years.

bring it to canada please :(

Would be nice if they allowed fsd transfer for leases as well

Santander is notoriously difficult to deal with but hopefully it works out.

Hey Iowa and Louisiana, 

Directly, it’s a cap cost reduction. Also, isn’t restricted by income caps.

[deleted]

Would this enable immediate/early lease buyout with minimal fees? (to bypass the tax credit income limit) Would like to avoid rent charge (interest) for the remaining months if I pay off early / on day 1

Model 3 didn't appear much, if any, cheaper than cash price before $7500 tax credit. Should the tax credit be "passed on" via lower lease pricing?

Now just have the M3P Quicksilver qualify for the tax credit and I’m in!!

Firing their liability-in-chief?

A few months ago, I was torn between leasing a new model 3 or buying used and one of the factors that pushed me to buying used was the fact that I couldn’t buyout the lease after. 😤

Cybertruck lease is the same monthly payment as finance

Cybercabs are simply marketing for the current car business.

lol meaningful stuff

Like I can sell to Carmax even though at the time I signed my lease it was prohibited?

Given that this is a developing field on the frontier of data science and machine learning, can you really blame them for not knowing?

They only stopped customers from doing it when people found out they could sell their leased Tesla to dealerships and make $5000 profit. Covid was a weird time

I bought a used model 3 a few months ago for basically the same $300 a month that a lease would have cost specifically because Tesla didn’t offer a buyout option and I prefer to own rather than rent. It was dumb that they didn’t allow it before. It would have sold me a new car and I’m sure others as well.

Lease Tesla. Lease is done. You can finance the remainder.

“A (2018) model 3 can generate 250k in revenue” ahahaahahahahahahahahaha

How do you know? I have a 2022 lease id like to buyout and would then be eligible for the tax credit I think, so trying to understand for sure lol

Great point

Can someone whose knowledgeable explain how 7500 dollars tax credit will apply to Cybertruck lease ? Thanks in advance

Yeah. It’s mind boggling it took this long

Does that reduce Tesla Used Inventory? Looking for a specific year and equipped qualifying local LR/P with the used tax credit, and have not seen a single one pop up... Will that likely make it even more difficult as people take up the option to buy out their lease? Are most of the Tesla used inventory vehicles typically trade ins or lease vehicles? Is there any way to get a idea of ratios even if empirically derived, or even user derived best guesses?

Existing leases can go into the App -> financing-> Manage Leases to see the buyout price. I just pulled mine up (16 months left on a 36mo lease) and the buyout is more than a new 2025 model.

Towards the cap cost of the lease, I believe

So it’s already factored in for the monthly payment ? If that’s so then the lease deal is so trash for people who look for 7500 dollars tax credit

Why is your service department so shitty??

I BELIEVE so, yes

I wonder if this is also sign the Cybersecurity prices will see another major reduction soon, as part of, and to accelerate production ramping.

Same here. I returned mine in August. I would have loved to buy out the lease

I don’t think I have a “financing” section in the Tesla app. Anyone else?

Is it best not to put money down on a lease?

So I want the 2024? Does it need to be made from a specific location to get juniper models If I wanted the best model Y I can get (what location built is the best)

So they're doing something that every other manufacturer already does? Got it.

Good that this is an option but it is another sign that Tesla is having some struggles. You don’t alienate most of your buyers without some consequence. They went from having a lot of people evangelizing for the brand to sheepishly saying they own one.

What about the UK?

The tax credit is based on the date you first acquired the car. Buying out now wouldn’t change anything tax credit wise. The tax credit question is for people who are just now starting a lease

I don't either. I leased through Tesla but the lease is held by US Bank. When I leased, there wasn't any other option for a lease through anyone specific so I am thinking this is still a "Tesla Lease" but the app doesn't know how to figure it out??

I was just looking and not seeing the $7500 tax credit on the leases anymore? Maybe I’m missing

That's disappointing

Isn’t the car supposed to appreciate per Elon? /s I know they did for a little while at least - as did some other brands

How can an appreciating asset be hard to move?

Mine is via Teslas but handled by Ally auto I believe.

Used Tesla prices have been plummeting. Why would anyone choose to buy out the lease unless they didn't drive up to the allowed mileage and think it's worth more than whats currently on the market?

No but I can blame them for false promises.

That idea is already more than several years old now and they've since developed a new dedicated vehicle platform for robotaxis, so logically it doesn't make sense to convert old M3s/Ys anymore

I’d been getting hung up on for the past year everytime my Tesla agent called me attempting to get me to sign a new contract. I told him everytime don’t call me unless y’all fix this predatory no end of lease buy out. Him saying they don’t and won’t have that option. I said Elon and Tesla change policies every day. He might fire you tomorrow. What you talking bout? Well well well. He better be calling me Friday with as.. scratch that I don’t need an apology it’s just business just send me a decent buy out offer and we good. Mine was extended to end of year… the hood out paid off. 🚀

It's about time. I would've leased a model Y earlier this year if they didn't have the dumb mandatory giveback policy.

Never made sense. There always reports of unsold cars. I was always so confused with why they wanted them all back… case closed

That what I’m seeing. Hopefully we can renegotiate.

Completely useless in Texas since you have to pay Sales tax twice, lol.

This wording seems to contradict this? Eligibility All Tesla vehicles delivered on or after April 15, 2022 are not eligible for purchase. Third-party dealerships and third-party individuals are not eligible to purchase leased vehicles. Model 3 and Model Y leases are not eligible for purchase regardless of delivery date.

Really looking to avoid HW3 FSD upgrades/class action proceedings

This is the easiest way to substantially overpay for a used Tesla.

Juniper is the internal name for the upcoming refresh. Similar to the name Highland for the refreshed Model 3. Juniper is not out yet and has not been officially announced but there are leaked photos online.

If anything, it would only qualify for the used EV credit, and that has a max price of 25k.

The 7500 comes off the price. You'll see it itemized on the lease paperwork along with the vehicle price, options, taxes/fees, etc.

Cybercabs are about as real as the new roadster with built in jetpacks. That’s why it was never going to work.

Is this in the original lease agreement? I believe this is what mine says too.

You “get” the tax credit right away when you lease the car. It’s deducted from the total cost of the lease. So if the car costs $45k and your total cost to lease is $25k, they take the $7500 off your cost to lease - so you’re only paying $17.5k over 3 years, and then if you want to buy it out, you’d pay the other $20k. At least I’m pretty sure this is how it will work as a current lessee.

Hooray I can now buy the car I’ve been paying for!! Lmao chodes

More inventory discounts are likely

Overall you still spent a lot less money so I wouldn’t sweat it too much

It’s like $100 difference

Tesla always pulls demand levers at the end of the quarter, and this is just another (overdue imo) demand lever. The only thing this shows is status quo of the last several years.

For the same reason anyone buys a new car to begin with.

just spoke to an ortho surgeon who bought a Kia EV9 and wondered why over a Tesla, maybe that's why. That's a good deal.

Wow didn't know that, thanks for the heads up

What appreciating asset are you speaking of? Because a Tesla certain doesn’t appreciate.

He was sarcastically referring to the fact that Elon said Teslas are appreciating assets which is very much not true.

Gotcha. There are people that believe these are investments somehow.

Can you please share your math? Trying to understand how leasing math works for Teslas. I never even considered leasing but this is mighty tempting, especially since I'm not eligible for 7500 tax credit.

Wait huh? Meaning you pay sales tax at time of lease and buyout?

for now, it seems we are excluded. I still have the message that it's not possible in my app when i try to do it.

In this case it should be better for you.

Yep. Full price of car on lease start, and then if you buyout whatever the buyout price is.

It’s accounted for in the final buyout number.

That's how Elon markets the cars so...

what do you mean by this?

can you ELI5 this?

what do you mean by pull demand lever

The CT is also a car, no?

I consider it a truck, but yes

It appears it doesn't apply to Canadians.

I just saw [another post here from someone who leased a MY at peak covid prices](https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaModelY/comments/1h1yds4/lease_buyout_on_a_2023_model_y/) and his cap cost was over $78k. So buying out a preexisting lease may not be the best option for everybody lolol

Never seen that. But I guess I’ll take your word.

Oh crap so they just don’t show it on the lease calculator? Feels weird giving my credit card for the deposit without knowing the final calculations.

Im not familiar with leasing, does this mean at the end of the lease you can buy the tesla with the difference on what you didnt finish paying on the lease? Like the lease payments go towards the car?

Ha they couldn’t use it to their advantage and profit from inflated prices anymore so suddenly make it look like a positive when they took something away from their customers in the first place.

Yeah, I was negotiating my payments for a couple weeks after already having a lease reserved. They may “include” it in the lease calculator by including it in the estimated amortization cost though. My payments are slightly more than the advertised $399 after taxes and stuff. They initially had my payment at something like $365 with a higher upfront payment.

Get more people to buy the current products now without changing them

I am curious if this makes it to europe as well. Currently very tempting lease offers.

i’m in the same boat, if you find out let us know!

This is the answer. When I bought mine a few years ago they told me lease vehicles would be converted to ai taxis when asked if they do lease to own. Seems obvious all those grand plans are no longer viable. Likely mitigated that Elon increased factory production way too fast last few years and they’re sitting on a mountain of unsold inventory

Gotcha; well that’s definitely not as good. anyway to see the residual they are assuming before paying nonrefundable $250

Still more expensive than buying it due to their money factor (interest) and residuals built into the monthly leasing costs. Even after applying the $7500 lease credit.

If you're going to do this, execute the buy out and then flip it to Carmax. Don't tell Tesla what you're doing.

Isn't the $7,500 taken off over the initial 3 year lease term to get your lease rate down? I don't see the actual buyout price being affected by this.

Yes, my income exceeds the direct buy credit, so I leased instead (not a Tesla).

Bump on the request for math details, I've never leased as it always seems like a waste of money, but now I'm less sure

It seems if I lease a MS long range / plaid, I could get that $7,500 EV credit. I'm wondering if I lease and buyout the lease immediately, would that EV credit still be transferred to me?

I just spoke with Santander- they confirmed my 2023 Model Y lease is eligible for the buy out at the end of the lease. I had a feeling Tesla might do this, no more worrying about those extra miles.

I ran the numbers and the lease turned out a few grand cheaper Car is 55k with taxes and fees car is 61,298 performance Leasing with nothing down would be 690 a month for 36 months and then i could buy out for 31,100. Current price of that is 59,342 Financing is 16,300 down and then 1250month for 36 months at the end of 3 years you own the car total price 61300

Just spoke with Santander about my 2023 Model Y and it's eligible for buyout.

Is there a way to buy it out before the end of the lease by paying a fee/penalty? If so how much is it?

Are you sure? How can I find out about this? TIA

if you are through tesla lease trust - go to the leasing section of the app and it will be there - otherwise contact your lessor for details

Hey thanks. I ran the same calculation also with the performance (and I'm not eligible for tax credit) and initially I got a similar result to yours, few k less for leasing, but then I realized the other fees like registration state tax etc are not included in the buyout price. So after considering fees on both ends it looks like the only difference is the destination and order fee (not sure if these apply to buyouts; if they do, the price is exactly the same). On the M3LR it seems to save a few k on top of that with leasing (for me). I guess this means if you're driving under the 10-15k mileage limit then leasing is the better option for flexibility, and in the case of M3LR, total cost of ownership.

My price was with sales tax on the buyout price for my area. It was even cheaper originally. I think another use case would be to lease at 10k/miles a year with the intention of buying out after lease end for more flexibility and same exact price. I think I’ll be doing this in the coming weeks as it seems like too good to pass up.

Make sure the numbers work and look at the FMV; Tesla screwed the resale value on his cars.

I just spoke to them. They said ‘nothing has been communicated officially to us yet, but customers have been calling about this. Try again next week’. Did they give you a buyout amount?

I live in Texas by the way… I did see there was an issue for people in Iowa and Louisiana I believe.

I didn’t ask for a buyout amount, but they did say buying the car at the end of the lease was now possible.

Curious if buying out would be eligible for the used EV tax credit (US)? **IF** the vehicle purchase price is under 25K, it checks all the boxes. Considering they include the 7500, a rwd y could well be under 25k purchase price required for the credit.

I'm in the same boat but slightly worried about going over the mileage, as I've never leased before. I probably won't seeing as I WFH so no commute but I do like to drive around and take frequent trips

Got rid of mine, too many problems.

For a buyout to be worth it, doesn't the buyout purchase price have to be in the initial leasing contract?

yes, in a lease origination it is in it. Since they changed this on the fly, they applied to to ALL cars new AND already leased

So then the next question is whether they're allowing lease + immediate buyout for those disqualified by income caps.

Can someone test this out please lol? This is my second Tesla lease. First was through Tesla, my second and current is Ally and it’s been a nightmare.

Yep. My first Tesla lease was through Tesla, super easy to manage and work with, when I went to lease my second Tesla, I completely looked over the fact that it would be with Santander rather than directly with Tesla, when I eventually realized it, I then also realized how shitty of a situation I got myself into. I really want out of the car I have, and Santander is awful.

Like?

Sensors reporting things that aren’t really there like pedestrians and other cars. I live in a cold climate and charging was difficult. The body panel gaps would make a whistling sound at speed. The paint also started peeling. The whole thing was just a giant disappointment.

Same!! While I fully admit it’s partly my fault for not carefully reviewing the lease agreement, the situation was still frustrating. Back in April, I ordered a new M3P right after the refresh was announced and signed a lease quote from Tesla Financial. What I missed in the fine print was that if more than 30/45/60 days passed between order and delivery, the terms could change. By the time my car was delivered in June, I had to reapply for the lease because the money factor had increased. That made the car more expensive than I’d anticipated. When I reapplied, the first quote came from Ally, but I was in a tough spot since my previous Tesla lease had already ended, and I was without a car. It wasn’t until I was physically at Tesla picking up the car and reviewing the lease documents that I realized how bad the situation was. I wouldn’t have signed if I’d fully understood how leasing through Ally would exclude me from benefits like managing the lease in the Tesla app, new lease incentives near the end of the term, or credit for vehicle damage at lease end. Plus, Ally’s customer service is a nightmare. I regret the whole experience.

[removed]

[removed]

It states that Louisiana is exempt from the buyout option. Does anyone know why this is?

Yep, same here, dealing with Santander is awful.

Do we think this is an error on their end because on their website it does say all leases? Mine is saying the same currently.

We can't blame them for making claims about things they don't know about?

My Tesla app under "Purchase Vehicle" still shows "In eligible to purchase" any idea why?

Does anyone know the specific reason as to WHY Iowa and Louisiana residents aren’t allowed to purchase after the lease period?

What about IA and LA?