Tesla warns of massive lease price hikes coming at end of the month, the prices are crazy

Tesla has been pulling every demand lever it can find to end the year on a high note, resulting in some of the most aggressive lease pricing we’ve ever seen.

The automaker is now signaling that these deals are expiring at the end of the month, and the price jumps are going to be significant.

We are talking about monthly payments increasing by up to 67% in some cases.

For the last few weeks, the story has been all about the $299/month Model 3 lease. It’s a headline-grabbing number that frankly makes the math of driving a gas car look terrible.

But Tesla is subsidizing this pricing. It’s not sustainable and the automaker is doing it temporarily to compensate for low demand. It looks like Tesla is planning a hard reset on pricing once the Q4 delivery wave crashes on December 31.

Tesla announced a price increase coming on December 26th to encourage people to take delivery as soon as possible:

Here is the breakdown of the signaled price increases:

• Model 3 Premium RWD: Increasing to $499/month with $3,000 down. (Currently ~$299/mo with $1,500 down. That is a massive 67% increase in monthly payment, plus a doubled down payment.)
• Model 3 Premium AWD: Increasing to $549/month with $3,000 down. (Up from ~$449/mo with $1,500 down. A 22% increase.)
• Model 3 Performance: Increasing to $749/month with $3,000 down. (Up from ~$699/mo with $1,500 down. A 7% increase.)

The Model Y, which is currently one of the best best-selling vehicles in the world, is not spared either:

• Model Y Premium RWD: Increasing to $549/month with $3,000 down. (Up from ~$449/mo with $0 down. A 22% increase.)
• Model Y Premium AWD: Increasing to $649/month with $3,000 down. (Up from ~$479/mo with $0 down. A 35% increase.)

Even the Cybertruck is seeing a bump, though less dramatic percentage-wise:

• Cybertruck AWD: Increasing to $849/month with $5,000 down. (Up from ~$729/mo with the same down payment. A 16% increase.)

This puts significant pressure on buyers to take delivery within the next two weeks. Tesla is known for these end-of-quarter pushes, but usually, the incentives simply vanish. In this case, we are seeing a reversion to standard pricing that highlights just how subsidized the current offers are.

Electrek’s Take

This is the classic Tesla end-of-quarter playbook, but the contrast here is sharper than usual and a focus on leases.

I’ve said before that the $299 Model 3 lease is practically a no-brainer. When you look at the total cost of ownership, it competes with used Toyotas.

A 67% increase on the base Model 3 is wild. It shows that Tesla was willing to burn significant margin to clear inventory and compensate for lower demand following the end of the tax credit.

It remains true that the best time to buy a Tesla is at the end of a quarter and ideally, at the end of the year.