With the price of used cars skyrocketing, Tesla no longer allows customers to buy cars at the end of the lease.
“All Tesla vehicles delivered on or after April 15, 2022, are ineligible for purchase,” according to new language on the company’s website first spotted by Electrek. “Third-party dealers and third-party individuals are not eligible to purchase rental cars.”
Some customers who rented cars before April 15 will still be able to purchase them at the end of their contracts, Tesla noted. This is often an option with other automakers, but this isn’t the first time Tesla has turned it down.
2022 Tesla Series (Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.)
When it Introducing widely available rental options In 2019, Tesla will not allow Model 3 customers to buy cars. At the time, Tesla said it planned to use the cars in its “robotaxi”. autonomous car calling network. But that network — and the autonomous driving technology needed to make that happen — never materialized.
During the measurement, The price of used electric vehicles has increased compared with the same time last year. Rising demand and a lack of inventory due to supply chain issues have sent prices up across the board, with used Tesla car prices seeing some of the biggest spikes.
A bunch of used Tesla Model 3s returned after leasing over the past year Doesn’t seem to help at all making used Teslas more affordable, as average prices are still rising due to strong nationwide demand.
2022 Tesla Series (Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.)
At the same time, periodic price increases have made new Teslas more expensive. Brand new, Tesla Model 3 now cost more than a third more than a year ago.
While the prices of used and new cars are both increasing, there are other ways to drive a Tesla. California-based Autonomy offers monthly Register model 3and Hertz are adding the Model 3 to its rental fleet. Uber drivers are also eligible Renting a Model 3 from Hertz, it’s likely that Tesla will approach its promised fleet of robotaxi in the near future.
