In a Sign of Pure Panic, Tesla Has Resorted to 0% Financing and Crazy 20% Discounts on New Model 3 and Model Y Vehicles In America to Keep Afloat - Is This the End of Tesla?

The liberal left in America is abandoning Tesla after decades of almost cult-like support. Elon Musk’s political antics and that cringey salute have proven too much to bear for the folks who buy the ultimate example of virtue-signaling EVs. Tesla knows this and is having a literal fire sale to help keep the two models it sells, the Model Y and Model 3, flowing off of dealer lots and keep its factory lights on. The Model X and Model S are already virtually dead and buried, and the Cybertruck's deliveries have been so disappointing Tesla doesn't even mention the model in its delivery reports. 

We say literal fire sales because there have been multiple arson-related events in America at Tesla dealers and Supercharger locations. Not content with simply buying a product from a different EV maker, new reports detail how some radicals are now coming to dealers and Superchargers, seemingly intent on burning them to the ground. 

O% APR on Model 3
The first classic dealer tactic when a model suddenly becomes undesirable and production capacity exceeds demand is to offer “0% APR.” This appeals to the folks who finance pricey EVs. Tesla is advertising this sweetheart of a deal on Model 3 by directly emailing its list of shoppers, owners, and anyone who has ever expressed enough interest in Tesla to offer up an email address. You can see the email that Tesla is sending in the screenshot above, courtesy of Tesla, Inc. It was sent to me. I receive Tesla ads on a regular basis now. It is clear that in this key state, Tesla is now a classic dealer-style retailer. 

$8K Discounts on 2025 New Model Y Vehicles (Not Demos)
Tesla’s top-selling vehicle is its once-popular Model Y crossover. On its inventory page, you can find deals on NEW 2025 Tesla Model Y cars with discounts that round to eight grand. We spotted many with discounts of over $8K and one with a discount of $8,170. The top of the page image in our story is courtesy of Tesla, Inc. That particular model was deliverable to a Tesla dealer in Massachusetts within just minutes of driving time from our doorstep. 

Tesla Demo Vehicles See Discounts Creeping Toward $10K
These examples are not the loaners dealers use to offer test drives. Those demos have even higher discounts. In about 30 seconds of looking, we found multiple new demo Model Y vehicles with discounts of as much as $8,400.

Data Indicates That Tesla Sales Are In Big Trouble
Tesla has already seen a dip in deliveries here in the U.S. as of the end of 2024. That was well before the Elon Musk dog and pony show really hit full swing. We fully expect Tesla sales to nosedive the way that they have already in Europe, where Tesla’s sales have been cut nearly in half as of the latest reports. Unless something changes, Tesla could very well drag EV deliveries down to big overall drops. No automaker doing business in America has the production capacity to fill a gap left by a Tesla decline of even 15%. 

Subsidy Cuts May be the Final Straw For EV Shoppers
With EV subsidies now in the crosshairs of both Congress and the Trump administration, what is happening to Tesla could easily spread to the entire EV market in America. Insurify says that its data indicate about half of EV shoppers would choose a different type of vehicle if rebates and incentives were cut. 

Do you think Tesla is starting to become desperate?

What do you foresee happening in America this year for EV deliveries?
 

John Goreham is a credentialed New England Motor Press Association member and expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE int). In addition to his eleven years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can connect with John on Linkedin and follow his work on his personal X channel or on our X channel. Please note that stories carrying John's by-line are never AI-generated, but he does employ grammar and punctuation software when proofreading and he also uses image generation tools.