Tesla Introduces Lease Option for Model 3

Yesterday Tesla Inc. began offering U.S. customers the option of leasing rather than buying the company’s Model 3 electric sedan.

The lease requires a minimum down payment of $3,000, runs for 36 months and costs a maximum of $535 per month. Customers must return their vehicle when the contract ends and won’t be allowed to buy it instead.

Tesla also has fiddled with availability of the cheapest version of the Model 3. In February the company finally made good on a longtime promise to offer a base model for $35,000.

Now it says the base version can be ordered by phone or in a Tesla store, but not online. Observers note that the policy gives Tesla a better chance of trading a would-be customer up to a costlier and more profitable version of the Model 3.

The cheapest online version, dubbed the Standard Range Plus, costs $39,500 and comes with the company’s semi-autonomous Autopilot self-driving feature.