Tesla offering insane perks as sales dry up | Hacker News Reader

Tesla offering insane perks as sales dry up

autoblog.com

55 pointshjjkjhkj101 comments

(The perks are free charging and low interest rates on car loans)

I was expecting “insane”.

The insane part where somehow, magically, one Tesla dealership managed to make 1,200 sales in a single day and claim government credits from it: https://motorillustrated.com/suspicious-tesla-sales-surge-tr...

That seems like “lazy sales people batched a ton of sales and entered them all on the same date” kind of thing.

Especially since the rebate goes to the car owner, not Tesla.

“Enroll your dealership in the iZEV Program to offer your customers incentives for the purchase of ZEVs, learn how to apply the incentive at the point of sale or lease”

https://www.canada.ca/en/services/transport/zero-emission-ve...

I recently got a letter from the bank that owns my tesla loan, informing me that I can buy the car at the end of the loan. Previously that wasn't an option. Plus, it was for $28k (at the end of a 3 year loan).

Got another letter trying to get me to buy a new 3 with 0% interest for 60 months.

They're definitely under pressure.

Do you mean lease?

Yeah seems like your have a lease. You definitely want to return that lemon. Even if you love it return and re-buy for cheaper.

Ford Mach E incentives...

https://www.edmunds.com/ford/mustang-mach-e/2025/deals/

  $1,000 Complimentary Charging Offer - Expires 04/01/2025
  $1,000 Conquest Offer - Expires 04/01/2025
  $1,000 Loyalty Offer - Expires 04/01/2025
  $500 First Responder Offer - Expires 01/06/2026
  $750 Student or College Grad Offer - Expires 01/06/2026
  $500 Military Offer - Expires 01/06/2026
  Special APR - Expires 04/01/2025
  $7,500 Lease Bonus - Expires 04/01/2025
  Special APR - Expires 04/01/2025
  Alternative APR - Expires 04/01/2025
  $100 Third Party EV Charger Offer - Expires 07/01/2025
  $250 Utility EV Charger Offer - Expires 01/01/2026

Cybertruck 1.99% interest rate

"The widely panned [Cybertruck] vehicle is a flop, and Tesla is reckoning with existing stock it simply can't sell. To help entice buyers, Tesla is offering a 1.99 percent interest rate on new Cybertruck orders financed through Tesla."

Model_3 0.00% interest rate

"If you're willing to apply for a $7,500 federal tax credit on a new Model 3, Tesla is offering zero percent loans for "well qualified" buyers."

Model_3 0.99% interest rate

"If you're not interested in that tax break, you can still get a 0.99 percent loan if you're "well qualified," which typically means a credit score of 700 or better."

"Tesla sales are also down 76 percent in Germany, 75 percent in Spain, 72 percent in Australia, and 45 percent in Europe as a whole. In the U.S., reports peg Tesla's sales decline at 11.6 percent year over year."

Sold my Tesla model 3 performance about a year ago, and it wasn’t because of politics. Tesla continuously deployed breaking changes to my car without my permission. Autopilot, parking sensors, rain sensing wipers that just became absolute garbage… every new update was an exciting journey through the features of my car that used to work and now didn’t. Couple that with depreciation of a 68,000$ car to 19,000$ in two years time, I will never buy another Tesla. They have no long term thinking, no thoughts about existing customers, they will screw you over to make quarterly sales targets.

Yikes. Why are they deprecating those features?

Nobody knows why apps makers change the UI every years either…

Companies update their UI to stay modern, improve usability, align with new design trends, enhance performance, and differentiate from competitors. It also helps keep users engaged, address feedback, and integrate new features more seamlessly.

In theory at least.

> Why are they deprecating those features?

I guess deprecation is in the eye of the beholder.

I have a model y, probably got mostly the same updates, and I have found that the features seem improved.

The exception might be FSD, for which I think v12.5 was an experiment of questionable value that quickly became a non-issue with v13. I don’t have FSD, so I’m not sure.

The broken them. I had a model 3 with ultra sonic parking sensors and radar, they said the cameras alone were enough and started rolling out auto pilot and self park and such to only depend on cameras because of parts shortages during Covid.

The wipers are what really stuck in my craw. Because the car had great rain sensing wipers before, there was no button to turn them on or adjust the speed. It was buried in touch screen menus. Then during some autopilot update they ruined the rain sense, so you’re 3 menus deep on a touch screen while it’s raining (no autopilot, cause rain) to keep adjusting it.

They basically gave up trying to fix it and made the setting easier to access, popping up when you hit the windshield wash button on the stalk.

Unless he sells the company, I doubt it will survive. I wonder when layoffs will start ? That will really make for very interesting headlines.

If Tesla were to suddenly score a large government contract, that could keep them afloat.

The Postal Service, for example?

Any agency facing DOGE cuts would be motivated to buy Tesla.

This I would not mind seeing, EVs are perfect for Postal Use. But that ship has sailed because the current postmaster general insisted on Fossil Fuel vehicles and many are already in service.

Note, as a kid half my family worked for USPS, so a few times in summer I rode with them in the tiny 'jeeps' for mail delivery. In 1 day these vehicles probably travel less then 30 miles (50km).

I don't know if you saw this last year but looks like they're rolling out about 45k of the "duck" trucks:

https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2024/1030-...

It does note "another 21,000 commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) battery electric vehicles" though, so that could be the opening for Tesla...

this is so misleading, ev sales worldwide have been stagnant and their share price just normalised back to pre election. more chinese competition and also the Y model is being replaced with a newer face so they are lowering prices to remove old stock.

How are you defining stagnant here, and do you differentiate that from negative growth? I searched for whatever market trends I could find. It's true that there's globally more Chinese competition but no one's sales looked "stagnant" and the best obvious declines in Tesla sales especially in Europe since the Nazi salutes seem to be extreme outliers.

s/best/recent/

I will buy a Tesla as soon as Elon relinquishes control over the company and resigns from its Board.

Not bloody likely to happen, but a person can dream.

Unlikely as it seems, does he actually run the company anymore? He's running a bunch of other companies and apparently the federal government. I wonder when is the last time he attended a Tesla meeting. He really should hand the reins. But even so, he's going to the biggest shareholder. Jeff Bezos relinquished Amazon, but he's still executive chair and the biggest stock holder so people still the company his.

As long as you're dreaming, perhaps you should also include giving up all his equity in the company. He'd still profit handsomely off someone else running the company well with over 12% of shares.

I'm not going to go that far. He can invest in whatever he wants; if he owns a non-controlling amount of Amazon or Home Depot shares, I'm not going to stop shopping there.

I stopped shopping at Home Depot because their profits are donated to super pacs I don’t agree with.

Amazon isn't a great example though as Jeff “algorithmically controlling workers body” Bezos is only marginally less evil than Musk.

Tall poppy syndrome.

The entirely logistics industry tracks worker productivity closely.

Amazon are actually one of the better companies to work for. Their targets are more realistic, the pay is generally better, safety culture is much better and the facilities are air conditioned.

It's not just about tracking productivity, it's about the words he chose to say that.

Bezos also bought the WaPo and exert tight control over its editorial line so it can act as its own propaganda machine.

While not as ostensibly evil as Musk (likely because unlike the former, he's not high on drugs all the time), Bezos is still pretty close to a Bond villain.

Well, I'd say it depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

If you don't agree with his political stance and and want to loosen his outsized influence on US democracy (e.g. by pouring hundreds of millions in political campaigns, silencing intra-GOP opposition by threatening to primary them with his money, using Twitter to push the fringe talking points of the day), then I would argue your goal should be reducing his net worth by refusing to buy from companies he's invested in.

If on the other hand, you're mostly criticizing that the quality of Tesla's cars suffers because the company doesn't get his full attention, it's a different story and your stance makes sense.

Your idea, while well-founded, is practically impossible. If he put all his money into the S&P 500, and I refused to do business with any of its constituent companies, I’d barely be able to enjoy the fruits of modern society. I’m not that principled.

As for the second point, I’d contend that the quality of Tesla’s vehicles is suffering in large part because of his direct involvement. Choices like substituting a yoke for a steering wheel and the design of the Cybertruck were his ideas. And I wouldn’t be surprised if the latest idiotic move of eliminating steering column stalks for the turn signal, lights, and windshield wiper and washer were his, too.

Yes, agree that it would be very impractical if Elon was heavily diversified.

That said, as it stands, the vast majority of his net worth is tied up in just a few of his own companies, hence this approach should work for now.

Well, I was thinking other way round. When Tesla stock price sky rocketed after inauguration, I thought it would be dumped to PE firms or some other chump at immense profit to Musk. Tesla anyway does not fit into his political agenda, prices are too volatile in last few years and sales going down even before his latest shenanigans.

Why would you? There are other car manufacturers with better cars available.

insane that people actually let elon’s government work influence their car buying decisions

It's about the only way to vote against him, since he's an unelected official.

?? doge was explicitly part of trump’s campaign, a vote for trump was a vote for elon and doge

Why wouldn't you - the average person has few ways to influence big players and voting with their dollar is by far the most effective.

I wanted a Tesla for years. I wouldnt consider buying one now.

it’s the only car i’ll buy tbh, i’ve got a model Y

Even if he wasn't morally reprehensible, the Cybertruck is probably the ugliest and worst built car of all time and the rest of the lineup has a history of major quality issues as well. Meanwhile, the competition has majorly caught up with the lead Tesla blew. In 2025 a Tesla isn't worth buying over any number of other EVs

Perhaps, but the oddly overbuilt stainless body with what's basically an M3 drivetrain is potentially a decent vehicle for someone who really wants a M3 but is shopping for $5k beater trucks because he knows he's gonna beat the crap out of whatever he gets

It's an overbuilt stainless body and underbuilt aluminum frame that is not capable of what a $5000 beater truck is. It's a bad truck.

It's built to modern standards of power and braking and weighs over 6k. It's gonna run circles around whatever 25yo half ton you can get or $5k as long as the owner actually uses it to its potential. Though the whole back breaking off thing gives me pause.

In the same comment, you acknowledge why it can't run circles around the 25 year old half ton. The fucking hitch can break off while towing in a way that wouldn't happen on any other production truck. It is a bad truck.

> insane that people actually let elon’s government work influence their car buying decisions

Classic business owner fantasy:

Owner: I am going to to stiff you and make your life hell.

Customer: I don't care please let me buy your stuff at over-inflated prices. And keep stiffing me while I suffer because of you.

We are in a rather peculiar situation in US history where a party representing roughly 48% of the population has absolute control over all branches of government. The party representing the other 48% has no authority, and often believes the decisions of the first party to be incompatible with a functioning society.

It’s surprising that TSLA boycotts are the only disruptive protest happening.

huh that’s a good point

That's only on top of Teslas being somewhat shitty cars, and on top of competitor brands offering good EVs.

i love my model Y, it drives me everywhere. only car i’ll buy from now on

One could argue that Elon and Tesla's reputation as the first to seriously tackle electrifying the transport system to deal with climate change got them a lot of goodwill that made people overlook the issues with the cars.

Now the reputation is going the other side of neutral.

As someone in the market for a Cybertruck, this doesn't look like desperation to me. These are fairly standard perks. Now a low APR _and_ free FSD, that'd be a serious incentive. That's what I'm waiting for.

wait a bit more, it’ll be 0%, free FSD and free supercharging and under $80k

Free graffiti comes standard in 2025.

I've been shopping Ford Mavericks and they have no incentives other than a 3 year lease. They are hot because they are filling a market niche that is in-demand. Incentives are priced accordingly.

Low demand, high incentives. High demand, low incentives.

They also have annual sales of ~140k globally. The Y is closer to 1.2M.

Even in the US, the Y sells ~2x as many as Maverick.

Ford can't make them fast enough, apparently

Something tells me that the model Y wi be selling dramatically less in the coming years.

That's why Tesla is releasing the cheaper Model Q later this year.

There's speculation that Ford doesn't make enough Mavericks because they don't want to erode F150 sales. The Maverick is a sweet little truck.

The maverick cuts into their f150 sales and they under priced it initially. They have been raising prices steadily and they the trucks still sell out

Serious question: do you expect to have to field questions about buying a car from Musk post-seig heil and DOGE?

I support cutting government waste. So do the majority of Americans, BTW. And no one with any folds on their brain believes Musk is a "Nazi".

anyone that supports cutting government waste and has an ounce brain would be smart to realize that that what government people in charge do not give a flying fuck about cutting government waste - do better

I too support cutting government waste, provided it's done right. The problem is that currently it's being done with all the grace of a hippo in ice skates. A good manager does things methodically, not spastically. If he were advising well, we wouldn't have to keep calling important people back to work.

You also don't have to believe Musk is an actual Nazi to believe he should be careful in how he presents himself. We don't make these sorts of gestures precisely because people might think you are one. If you don't believe me, make a trip to Tel Aviv or Jerusalem and try it yourself, and see whether you make it out without injuries. (And please have someone film you.)

And the guy has more than enough money to hire a speaking coach. He probably ought to.

We are broke. We're out of good options.

Your opinion is inconsistent with the vast majority of economists and financial analysts.

The government has the taxing power to remedy any shortfalls. If the country were truly in bad shape financially, we would have to pay much higher interest rates and our bond rating would below the highest grade there is.

I don’t know who you’re listening to, but whomever they are, they’re not very well informed, or at the very least, they’re at odds with the smart money.

The "opinion of economists" is why we'll be paying $1T+ in interest on our debt this year, and why we print $2T a year and haven't balanced the budget in well over two decades. I have kids. I'm not going to saddle them with crippling debt to provide circumcision in Zimbabwe or to replace the Taliban with better armed Taliban.

As I said before, there’s nothing wrong with looking at our finances and making cuts to things we think are wasteful. But there’s a right way to do things, and that’s according to law, and with careful exercise.

I just hope you’re not teaching your children that behavior like Musk’s and Trump’s is to be emulated. I fear that more than debt.

How much Rush do you listen to?

The guy who welded my exhaust and tasted my transmission fluid to tell me how "synthetic tastes terrible" says the things you do.

All that dude listens to is fear mongering conservative media that constantly misrepresents reality to make people feel scared. Everytime I walk into that shop I hear scared white dudes talking about things that aren't actually happening to justify their weird stances on issues they know nothing about.

How much MSNBC do you listen to? https://www.usdebtclock.org

I dont listen/watch msnbc. Most people would describe me as center-right in US politics.

I live in the rural/urban divide and grew up extremely conservative on a ranch. I know a ton of people like you, including a lot of my family. Your stances are based on willful ignorance and a very basic misunderstanding of the topics being discussed. Folks who talk like you are basically one "enlightenment" away from sovereign citizen status.

> Serious question: do you expect to have to field questions about buying a car from Musk post-seig heil and DOGE?

I live in a liberal part of California.

No one has said anything to me about driving a Tesla, and I doubt anyone will.

I know a few folks who have ruled out a tesla because of Elon, but the realize that a car and the ecology around it is more than its CEO (or whatever he is).

I know many more folks who have bought a new one.

I would snap up a Model Y if it had V2X charging. I can only imagine Tesla is worried about undercutting their powerwall business.

Powerwall gives you 13 kwh for $10K. A model Y is 60kwh for $30k

CT has v2x. I hope it comes to the other cars eventually.

Why do you want one?

100% the only reason anyone would buy a cyber truck is ego and/or attention.

They're bad at everything you'd want a truck for. They're impractical and have high upkeep costs.

I think some people really love the hate it brings. It’s like driving around in a giant dumpster with a hate symbol on it except it won’t get you cancelled and fired from your job.

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