Tesla Is Basically Begging You To Buy A Standard Range Model Y

• Tesla is pulling all of the the discount levers for its annual end-of-year push.
• This is the first full quarter in recent years that Tesla will not have the federal EV tax credit to help with demand and affordability.
• Thankfully, its financing deals make a pretty convincing argument to buy.

With only 23 days left in the year, automakers are going all-out with end-of-year incentives. Tesla, no stranger to the end-of-quarter push, likely wants to show it can still post big numbers after the loss of the federal EV tax credit—even if that means putting some cash on the hood to make it happen.

This year, Tesla is pulling discount levers and dangling some free upgrades in front of buyers, according to Electrek, which first noticed the incentives on Tesla’s website. Not only can buyers get some sweet financing and leasing deals, but they can also grab an upgrade of their choice to sweeten the deal.

The biggest incentive for many buyers is the “free upgrade” on inventory cars. This means picking something Tesla already has built and offering a discount for the cost of what would normally be a paid upgrade—think premium paint colors, all-white interior or fancier wheels. Depending on the option, that’s a discount of anywhere from $1,000 to $2,500.

For those more interested in the bottom line, Tesla is also offering 0% APR financing for up to 72 months on the Standard Range version of the Model Y.

Tesla is also offering 2.99% APR on all trims of the Model 3 except for the Standard Range, which is basically halving its standard rate of 6.31% APR on the trims. It’s still a deal, but just more in-line with that you might expect from an end-of-quarter push these days.

According to NerdWallet, the average APR for Superprime and Prime loans today are 4.9% and 6.5% (respectively). That means buyers of the $44,490 Model Y Premium RWD will see savings of between $7,000 and a whopping $9,400 over the life of their loan. While that’s not quite the upfront savings of the EV tax credit, it’s about as good as it gets in today’s economy.

And if buying isn’t your thing, Tesla is also offering a $0-down leasing deal on the Model Y. The caveat here is that buyers must take delivery by December 31st to take advantage of any of these deals.

Tesla’s end-of-year push isn’t new. But what is new is the lack of federal EV incentives to prop up sales. That effectively made all of its mainstream EVs $7,500 more expensive, in a year when the company was already dealing with a major image issue. Plus, many buyers moved up their purchase windows to take advantage of the $7,500 credit, causing most manufacturers to post sales dips this fall. Point is: It’s a rough year for Tesla’s core business. 

The automaker managed to deliver 495,570 cars between October and December last year, ending 2024 with 1,789,226 total deliveries globally. It will be interesting to see how Tesla fares for 2025 given the economic and political climates. Deals like this should certainly help.