Post Au7OsZLskBGToSmQca by AlliFlowers@talkedabout.social
(DIR) More posts by AlliFlowers@talkedabout.social
(DIR) Post #Au7OAryU8zuQpPzzY8 by Nonilex@masto.ai
2025-05-15T12:33:49Z
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Exclusive: #Musk took leased cars back so #Tesla could use them as "robotaxis." Instead, Tesla sold themTesla last November ended an unusual policy that prohibited US leasing customers from buying their cars at lease-end.The policy started in 2019, when Tesla announced that customers could lease its mass-market Model 3 sedans but would have to return them, at the end of the lease, for use in Tesla's planned "robotaxi" network.https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/musk-took-leased-cars-back-so-tesla-could-use-them-robotaxis-instead-tesla-sold-2025-05-15/
(DIR) Post #Au7OFAsLoQeIbiBMYa by Nonilex@masto.ai
2025-05-15T12:35:01Z
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"You don't have the option of buying," Chief Executive #ElonMusk said at an investor gathering in California in April 2019. "We want them back.""Next year, for sure," he added, "we'll have over 1 million robotaxis on the road."None of that would prove true. Despite repeated promises, the #robotaxis never came. #Tesla instead found an unusually lucrative way to make money by flipping many of the off-lease cars to new buyers, according to four people familiar with Tesla's retail operations.
(DIR) Post #Au7OPLDkCk63aV2LMu by Nonilex@masto.ai
2025-05-15T12:36:32Z
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Rather than storing the used cars – a fast-depreciating asset – #Tesla started adding features to them through software upgrades. It then sold the vehicles to new customers who would pay thousands more than #lease-end buyers would have, the people said.The practice was an easy way to "jack up the price" of the used vehicles, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified.#scam #Musk
(DIR) Post #Au7OhvIWoEQCgw8QlM by Nonilex@masto.ai
2025-05-15T12:39:36Z
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Although counter to what #Musk said publicly–& descriptions #Tesla gave…regarding #lease terms–the tactic appears to have been legal. Still, the practice denied lessees the industry-standard option of buying their vehicles & misled them for years about why.It also perpetuated the myth among investors that Tesla was near fully #AutonomousDriving #technology. That belief helped buoy Tesla #stock, whose value far outpaced current earnings & made it the world's most valuable automaker.
(DIR) Post #Au7OsZLskBGToSmQca by AlliFlowers@talkedabout.social
2025-05-15T12:42:06Z
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@Nonilex On The Other Hand, think of all the people who are thankful to be done with their Tesla lease so the can get a car that comes stigma-free.
(DIR) Post #Au7OzxLhvBGEGYDkw4 by Nonilex@masto.ai
2025-05-15T12:43:30Z
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After starting the no-purchase policy w/Model 3 leases, #Tesla expanded it to leases for all models. Until the recent reversal, its website said Tesla vehicles delivered after April 15, 2022 "are not eligible for purchase," & that "Model 3 & Model Y leases are not eligible for purchase regardless of delivery date."Then, last Nov 27, Tesla's North America account posted #Musk's social media platform: "Lease buyout now available" for new contracts. The company also updated its leasing webpage….
(DIR) Post #Au7PBSKz31KlYmMkIS by Nonilex@masto.ai
2025-05-15T12:45:34Z
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#Tesla's story about keeping used cars for #robotaxis fits a long pattern of unfulfilled promises to deploy #SelfDriving vehicles–most recently announced for June in Austin, Texas.Every year since 2016, #Musk has promised self-driving Teslas would arrive no later than the following year. In 2019, when Tesla first offered leasing for the Model 3, Musk told podcast host Lex Fridman that the ability to add #AutonomousDriving software would make every used Tesla an "appreciating asset."#scam
(DIR) Post #Au7PNdiUZ9kKKKAgG8 by Nonilex@masto.ai
2025-05-15T12:47:47Z
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Some #investors have referenced the alleged inventory of leased vehicles as a promising strategy. As recently as October – ahead of a Hollywood event where #Tesla displayed a concept "Cybercab" #robotaxi – Ark Investment Management, long bullish on Tesla stock, said the off-lease inventory could help quickly ramp-up an #autonomous ride-hailing service.#Musk #scam #SelfDriving
(DIR) Post #Au7PXucUZiRPeBGNqS by Nonilex@masto.ai
2025-05-15T12:49:37Z
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Others have long had doubts. When #Tesla in 2019 announced it was prohibiting lease purchases because of its #robotaxi plans, Evercore ISI analysts reacted in a research note: "uhmmm, what??" The announcement "is an indication that Tesla believes their ride-hailing network is going to be a viable business in three years," the analysts added. "Put us in the extremely skeptical camp."#Musk #scam #SelfDriving
(DIR) Post #Au7PdPNjd8FkV9yuga by Nonilex@masto.ai
2025-05-15T12:50:38Z
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As a rule, auto dealers avoid holding used inventory because used cars generally depreciate rapidly. Michael Minick, a former #Tesla sales representative & one of the people familiar with the sale of formerly leased cars, told Reuters the company wouldn't allow cars to "just sit on lots & lose value.""I knew that wasn't true," added Minick, who was among thousands of Tesla employees laid off during a restructuring last year.#Musk #scam #SelfDriving
(DIR) Post #Au7Q753TljLW9AeiZM by shyam1234@ieji.de
2025-05-15T12:55:57Z
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@Nonilex Smarter Choices, Lower Costs – Insurance from $29/Monthhttps://bestusacarprotection.online/
(DIR) Post #Au7QFVmuGFqZNDvMqe by staringatclouds@mstdn.social
2025-05-15T12:57:28Z
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@Nonilex Just like a "JohnnyCab" from the Schwarzenegger version of "Total Recall"