Tesla Model S Just Got Affordable: $580 a Month!

The base Tesla Model S 60kWh with no options ticked still starts over $70,000 before incentives that bring the price down to anywhere between $56,070 and $63,570, depending on what state you live in. Add in the price of gasoline, swap it for a pittance added to your electric bill, as well as a guaranteed trade-in value, and the result is an effective [eff] payment of $637/mo.

At least it was before Tesla Motors got in contact with its banking partners and also with reality. Before, the finance term was limited to 63 months, and the calculator was a little off, assuming an average price of premium gasoline of $5.00/gal. Now Tesla Motors is offering up to 72 months financing and you can put in your own local data to make comparisons.

What’s the best case scenario? Most to West Virginia, where you’ll get up to $15,000 in federal and state incentives and the average price of premium is $3.88/gal. A basic Tesla Model S 60kWh will cost you just $553/mo eff when compared to the most basic Lexus, the IS250, which works out to about $600/mo eff. If you take out the guaranteed resale value, the Tesla Model S price jumps to $648/mo eff.I haven’t even gone into maintenance, which drives the cost-to-own price for the Lexus even further.

Is this how people think about financing these days? I can understand fuel, electricity, financing, and incentives, so I guess people with enough money to consider a Tesla Model S think in different terms than the rest of us. Then, I guess you have to think differently if you plan on owning an electric vehicle.