Tesla leasing - Ultimate Guide

Would you like to lease a Tesla and first find out whether you should really lease your Model 3 or Model Y? Then it is important that you first deal with how the costs are incurred. This guide gives you all the information you need to make an informed decision.

This includes whether the Tesla should be leased privately or for business, how many kilometers are required in which term and where the best conditions are.

As you can see, there are many questions to consider when leasing a Tesla. In this short guide we will show you what you should definitely pay attention to if you want to lease a Tesla.

• This is how Tesla leasing works
• Where can you lease a Tesla?
• Tesla lease costs
• Who is my contractual partner at Tesla Leasing?
• Can I buy my Tesla at the end of the lease?
• What alternatives are there to Tesla leasing?

This is how Tesla leasing works

Tesla leasing is comparable to renting. You pay a fixed monthly rate to the lessor. The amount of the leasing rate depends mainly on the price of the Tesla Model 3 or Y including its equipment, the free kilometers and the down payment.

At the beginning, a leasing contract is concluded for a period of between 1 and 4 years. The term begins when the Tesla is delivered. The lessor remains the owner of the vehicle, while the lessee is entered in the vehicle documents as the keeper.

A leasing contract can be concluded both privately and commercially. The advantage of business leasing is that the leasing rates can be booked as monthly operating expenses.

At the end of the contract period, the Tesla must be returned when doing mileage leasing. With residual value leasing, there is the option to buy the residual value specified in the contract. Early termination of the leasing contract is usually very difficult and involves high costs.

Lease Tesla Model 3 and Y privately

The first question is whether you want to lease your Tesla privately or whether you can use commercial leasing. Commercial leasing is only available to companies.

If you are looking for Tesla leasing privately and find particularly cheap offers, you should make sure that the prices really apply to private leasing. Low rates are often advertised here, which are out of the question for private individuals.

Private leasing a Tesla is worthwhile for you if you would rather have fixed monthly installments than pay the full price in advance. The biggest advantage of Tesla leasing for private individuals, however, is that you always drive the latest model and are therefore always up to date with the latest technology.

Tesla Model 3 and Y Commercial Lease

Interested in leasing your Tesla for your business? Then you can take advantage of the commercial leasing option. Commercial leasing of a Model 3 or Model Y allows you to take advantage of tax benefits.

The tax advantages come from the fact that you can deduct the monthly lease payment of your Tesla as a business expense. In addition, the maintenance costs are almost zero and there are no vehicle taxes.

As an employee, you also have advantages if your Tesla is leased as a company car. If a Tesla that is also used privately is purchased between 2019 and the end of 2030, only half the gross list price is used to calculate the so-called “monetary benefit” instead of the full price.

The German government wants to significantly reduce the CO2 emissions of new passenger cars and has therefore lowered the assessment basis for purely battery-electric Tesla company cars below a gross list price of € 60,000 to just 25%. Above this limit, 50% of the gross list price is used for the basis of assessment.

Where can you lease a Tesla?

If you want to lease a Tesla Model 3 or Tesla Model Y, there are 2 options: You can decide to lease your car directly from Tesla or you can lease your vehicle from a third party.

Lease Tesla directly from Tesla

If you want to lease your Tesla or any other model directly from Tesla, you simply proceed as you would with a normal purchase on the website.

You can customize your Model S, 3, X, or Y using the online configurator. Once you have done that, you will be asked which financing solution you would like to choose. First, choose either “Personal/Small Business” or “Business”, whichever applies to you.

You can then choose between "transfer", "business leasing"/"private leasing" or a so-called "balloon loan", for leasing you logically choose one of the two leasing options. In this step you also have the option of configuring your leasing rate individually, for example if you expect to drive more kilometers instead of the mileage of 10,000 km specified by Tesla or if you would like a different special leasing payment (by default this is € 6,500).

The leasing costs are then updated directly in the configurator, making it easy for you to find out what the best combination of term, kilometers and down payment is for you.

It is important to know that the Tesla leasing contract does not ultimately come directly from Tesla, but that the Santander Bank is behind this offer.

Lease Tesla from third-party providers

Of course, it makes sense that you lease your Tesla directly from Tesla. However, it is always important to know beforehand what other options are available on the market.

Tesla, for example, only offers new vehicle leasing, while third-party providers can also lease used vehicles. The big advantage of leasing a Tesla through a third party is that in some cases the vehicle can be bought out at the end of the term.

With the currently very high used car prices, this option is very important for many and can definitely be worthwhile. For this reason, it is worth considering other providers if you want to lease a Tesla.

Tesla lease costs

An important point when leasing your Tesla is of course the costs you can expect. First and foremost, your monthly leasing rate will of course depend on the configuration you choose for your Tesla - the more extras you choose for your vehicle such as different paintwork, sport tires, improved autopilot, etc., the higher the base price of your Tesla and thus the leasing rate per month for the lessee.

 

In addition, there is the runtime, the amount of the deposit and the agreed kilometers per year. There are also big differences due to the type of Tesla leasing.

Tesla Mileage Lease

Most offers to lease a Tesla are based on mileage leasing. The costs are calculated based on the kilometers driven. These are specified when the contract is concluded.

Attention: If the Tesla has more kilometers on the clock than agreed upon return, you have to pay for these additional kilometers. The price for exceeding the kilometers is also recorded in the leasing contract. If fewer kilometers are determined at the end of the term, these will be reimbursed depending on the contract.

Tesla residual value leasing

With residual value leasing, you can purchase your Tesla Model Y or Model 3 at the end of the term of your contract against payment of the residual value. You don't get this option with mileage leasing.

The estimated residual value is determined at the beginning of the contract. If there is damage to the vehicle that reduces the value of the vehicle, the lessee must pay for it.

It is best to find out about the usual market residual value. Because leasing providers like to tempt with low leasing rates, which they can offer by setting the residual value unrealistically high.

How much does a Tesla Model 3 cost to lease?

 

The cost of leasing a Tesla Model 3 depends on the amount of the one-time payment, the mileage per year and the length of the lease in months. Depending on this, there will of course be a different monthly rate.

In the basic variant, the Tesla Model 3 without any extras currently costs € 49,990 according to the list price. With an annual mileage of 10,000 km and a one-time payment of €6,500, the Model 3 leasing costs around €496 per month (which results in a total cost of €30,308 after 48 months).

For comparison: we found a Tesla Model 3 with the same equipment, running time and mileage at Autoscout24.de for a one-off payment of €6,000 at a monthly rate of €529 (total costs after 48 months: €31,392). The costs are about €1,000 higher with this provider, but the car is theoretically available at short notice.

How much does a Tesla Model Y cost to lease?

 

Since the Tesla Model Y has only been available in Germany since September 2021 and the demand is significantly higher than the supply, we can only provide information about the costs of Model Y leasing directly from Tesla. Here, too, we have chosen the cheapest variant without any extras for the sake of comparability.

With a purchase price of €57,970, the leasing rate for the Model Y Long Range directly from Tesla is €585. The installment includes a one-off payment of €6,500 and an annual mileage of 10,000 km as well as a leasing period of 48 months.

Is insurance included in the Tesla lease price?

There is no specific answer to this question, as this differs depending on the provider and the conditions. Insurance isn't usually included, so check if you want to lease your Model 3 or Y from another provider.

If you want to get an overview of the costs of Tesla insurance, this calculator will give you a quick and free overview. You can also take out Tesla insurance directly there if there is a suitable offer for you.

It is mandatory to take full cover insurance. This is always part of the leasing contract. The insurance company reimburses the replacement value of the car in the event of a total loss.

Can I lease a Tesla with no down payment?

Yes, that is possible. It is clear, however, that in such a case the conditions will be worse or the monthly leasing rates will be significantly higher, since the down payment will be spread over the contract period. In total, you will most likely pay more than with a down payment.

Do you get the environmental tax credit with Tesla Leasing?

With an amount of up to €6,500 in Germany, the environmental bonus can make a big difference in the purchase price of a Tesla. You will have to check for similar programs in your country to find out.

Yes, you get the environmental bonus with Tesla leasing. However, what you need to know is that leasing has a minimum holding period of 24 months. Otherwise the grant must be paid back in full.

Who is my contractual partner at Tesla Leasing?

 

The contractual partner is the lessor. You configure your Tesla Model 3, Y, S or X and the lessor buys the car from Tesla for you. The lessor becomes the owner. You pay for using the vehicle.

After registering the Tesla, the vehicle registration document is kept by the lessor. The lessee is entered in the vehicle registration document.

Can I buy my Tesla at the end of the lease?

Before you lease a Tesla, it's important to decide whether or not you care about keeping your Model 3 or Model Y after the lease expires.

Since Tesla Leasing is not a purchase on installments, the purchase is usually not possible. The leasing rate is the usage fee and the vehicle must be returned to the owner - the leasing company at the end of the term.

Tesla itself does not offer an option to buy your Model 3 or Y at the end of the lease term. Tesla only offers mileage leasing. If you want to buy your Model Y or 3 after the end of the term, you need a residual value leasing provider. Alternatively, a leasing contract with a purchase option is also possible.

What alternatives are there to Tesla leasing?

In addition to the Tesla leasing discussed in this article, there are other ways you can get your Tesla. We would like to briefly introduce them to you.

Financing

With financing, you buy your car on credit. Your bank can either grant you this loan, or you can use Tesla’s financing solution, which is called “balloon loan” there. When financing, it is important that you always calculate the total costs including interest in order to have an accurate comparison.

With this calculator you can quickly get an overview of the costs of Tesla financing.

Purchase

If you have saved enough money, you can of course buy the Tesla you want right away. This works very differently at Tesla than at other manufacturers. You can simply order your Tesla online.

The amount is only due when you have been given a specific delivery date. Only a small deposit of a few hundred euros has to be paid beforehand. The final payment is usually made by bank transfer.

Long-term rental

A relatively new option is the so-called "long-term rental". This works in a similar way to kilometer leasing at Tesla, but such a long-term rental usually includes all costs including maintenance and repairs.

If you would like to know more about these other purchasing options for a Tesla, we have provided separate guides for each of them.