Tesla Offers 84-Month Loans To Help You Forget Interest Rates Are Rising
Photo: David Zalubowski (AP)
Tesla has reportedly started offering customers the option of an 84-month car loan after CEO Elon Musk said the Austin, Texas-based automaker would “have to do something about rising interest rates.” If you aren’t very good at math, 84 months is seven years. That means, if you buy a car today, you’ll still be paying it off in 2030 when President DeSantis declares war on… I don’t know… cucks or something.
Tesla Investor Day 2023 Was Pretty Great if You Ignored Elon
Anyway, the previous longest loan Tesla offered was 72 months, or six years. Bloomberg reports that while extending loan terms can make monthly payments lower, buyers also tend to pay more in interest and are subject to a much higher risk of owing more than their vehicle is worth. With the rate electric vehicle tech is advancing, that could definitely be the case for many buyers.
According to the outlet, Musk has always been a Federal Reserve hater. Back in November of last year, the CEO tweeted (or X-ed, I guess) that the central bank’s interest rate increases were “massively amplifying the probability of a severe recession.” Not too surprisingly, his predictions about deflation have yet to actually happen.
“When interest rates rise dramatically, we actually have to reduce the price of the car, because the interest payments increase the price of the car,” Musk said during Tesla’s earnings call on July 19th, according to Bloomberg. “So we have to do something about that.”
The outlet says that even though 84-month loans have gained popularity, the trend has reportedly slowed in the first half of 2023. It goes on to say that according to Experian, about 34 percent of new vehicle loans in the first quarter were longer than six years. That may sound like a lot, but it’s down from 48 percent during the same time last year.
Despite Musk’s worries about interest rates hurting his business, Tesla reportedly delivered a record 466,140 vehicles during the second quarter of 2023 which ended in June. However, Bloomberg does note that the automaker has sold fewer cars than it has produced each of the last five quarters. Shares of the company apparently took a dive after Musk said on this week’s call that the company will have to keep lowering prices if interest rates continue to rise.
