How To Afford Your Tesla Model 3 and Pay For It

Posts like "I ordered a Tesla Model 3 on the day it was announced, but now I am worried about how to pay for it," are becoming common in Model 3 related forums. Some of these people are still a college students, others doubt their income will be sufficient to be able to pay for a new electric car. One of these following suggestions can help to clear up your prospect.

Delay the Configuration of Tesla Model 3
You still have 1-3 years to start really ordering your car. This means you can delay your options configuration and thus the delivery time. This will delay the start of the payment. Tesla Model 3 hasn't be yet fully unveiled and there is at least some time before Model 3's unveiling date.

Soon after the second unveiling Tesla Model 3 reservation holders should probably receive an invitation to configure the options they want to have in their Model 3. Now, I don't think you need to configure your options immediately. You can simply delay your configurations and thus delay the delivery of your Model 3. This will give you some extra time to organize your finances to pay for your car.

The Rebate May Help
Actually it's a tax credit not a rebate. Currently there still exist some tax credits for electric car buyers. I do not have a certain answer on the rebate you will have next year of in 2018, but existing and possibly future rebates will help to alleviate your financial burden.

Currently a 5 year loan for 35,000 dollars will have monthly payments of around $630. If you get a $7500 off as a rebate, it would drop your monthly payment to $500 per month, which is actually still huge for an average American, who has a mortgage payment, children and other bills to pay. You would need to make roughly 73k per year to comfortably afford a 35,000 car at 3% for 72 months for a payment of $535/month.

On the other hand the $7500 is a tax credit, you'll get it (if you qualify) when you file your taxes for the tax year that you purchased the car in. "If you take delivery late next year you'll see the credit a few months later during the following spring. However, if you get the car early in 2018 you wont see the credit until you file your 2018 taxes in 2019. In both cases it has no effect on the price of the car, the loan you take out, or the payments you'll be making," writes one user in Tesla's Model 3 Forum.

Find Another Tesla Model 3 Reservation Holder
You can find someone who doesn't want to wait for his or her Model 3 to come and switch your place with him. In this case you will get some extra months or even a year to ready your finances. In fact, we covered a story a week ago asking Tesla to allow me to sell my Model 3 place in line if I buy a Model S. But if you wait too long, you may lose an existing rebate if they run out.

Overall, Model 3 seems to be a very promising and superiors car, based on Tesla's Model S performance. Comparing them to gas-powered cars is like comparing apples to oranges. On the other hand, you can only buy what you can afford. Life has many other more important goals.