The monthly car payment a new Tesla owner says she pays is shocking social media users. Kimberly (@kimberly444sag) posted a viral TikTok that’s accrued over 599,000 views as of Monday.
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In it, she expressed how happy she was about not having to pay for maintenance on the vehicle. Which is what she had to do with her previous vehicle, a BMW.
Kimberly’s video begins with her recording the interior of her Tesla. She pans around the car, revealing accessories she’s added along with its white interior. Judging from the car’s icon on the vehicle’s infotainment screen, it appears to be a Model 3. A text overlay on the screen of the video details how much she pays monthly for the vehicle.
“Me with my $427 car note because I got tired of paying for expensive maintenance on a BMW,” it read.
In the caption, Kimberly joked that her vehicle needed a car wash. Furthermore, she pre-empted any hate she’d get for driving the vehicle from viewers.
“I bought it before I knew anything about crazy Elon so don’t attack me please,” she wrote.
Viewers were stunned at the car note
Many expressed how they were shocked at her monthly Tesla car payment amount.
“I pay 600 for a Nissan what am I doing wrong,” one person penned.
However, Kimberly remarked that she was paying that same amount for her previous luxury vehicle: “I was paying that when I had a BMW.”
Someone else echoed their monthly payment concerns, writing, “How is it only 427 my Nissan is 413.”
“I pay 600 for a d*mn Honda,” another individual echoed.
An additional person rejected Kimberly’s idea that Teslas are maintenance-free: “Tesla maintenance is crazy.”
However, another user agreed with the new EV owner, stating that service work on the cars is negligible.
“You’re right, having to change my wiper fluid and replace my tires when they go bad is really rough,” they wrote. “I think you convinced me to sell my M3.”
Tesla cost
Previously, Kimberly recorded herself heading to a Tesla dealership to get herself a Model 3. In the clip, she doesn’t share the pricing structure of the vehicle and how she was able to get one for $427. On the EV manufacturer’s website, the company listed that it had leasing plans which started at $249 a month.
Upon clicking this option, the automaker lists a litany of different benefits that bring down the cost of the car: “New leases include a $7,500 Tesla incentive and purchase option.”
Furthermore, depending on the state that you’re residing in, additional electric car incentives can be made available. In the state of New Jersey, for instance, folks can get $2,000 off, which is “based on income.”
There is also a down payment required on a lease of $2,999. The term indicates that the car is for 36 months, with 10,000 miles a year of driving. Which brings the grand total of monthly payments after taxes and fees to $256. However, it’s important to note that this is for a base model, rear-wheel drive Model 3.
For an outright purchase of the same vehicle, folks in NJ, for instance, will pay $46,975. However, with the Federal EV tax credit “applied at point of sale,” that drops it down to $39,475. Additionally, if individuals qualify for the state’s $2,000 income price slash, it goes down to $37,475.
Financing the same car for ownership over 6 years with a 720 credit score results in a $554 per month payment. Again, this includes all taxes and fees along with the Federal EV and income-based incentives. With these removed, it balloons to $711.
Tesla maintenance
Kimberly’s claim that Tesla’s are “maintenance free” could be attributed to the fact that her car is new. This means she’s probably currently enjoying the benefits of the brand’s warranty. Each new Tesla comes with a free, all-inclusive maintenance package for up to 4 years or 50,000 miles, whichever comes first.
Furthermore, the car’s battery, its most expensive component to replace, is covered for up to 8 years/100,000 miles. Teslas drivetrains are also covered under this same agreement. However, numerous Tesla owners who’ve had to service their vehicles past 50K miles have decried their costs.
One Model Y owner stated that they incurred an expensive “out of warranty” repair on the vehicle on YouTube. Another owner stated that they, too, had to pay a lot of money out of pocket for fixes past the 50K mark.
Moreover, Motor1 reported that Tesla had the most recalls out of any other automotive brand in 2024. A total of 5,135,991 vehicles were accounted for as part of the manufacturer’s recalls list. While there are independent automotive shops that service Teslas, most owners bring their cars to dealerships.
This means that the majority of customers need to rely on the manufacturer’s own service teams for repairs. As highlighted by the two owners, these components can cost a lot of money.
Newsweek also reported in 2023 that Tesla faced a “mass recall over parts breaking.” And Reuters wrote in the same year that “steering racks and axle half shafts” also “frequently failed on newer vehicles.”
@kimberly444sag I need a car wash lol #teslamodel3 #tesla also I bought it before I knew anything about crazy Elon so don’t attack me please #imjustagirl #blackgirlswithteslas #tesla ♬ original sound – 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞 𝐀𝐛𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐡
Other costs?
Additionally, Tesla users have complained about the costs of supercharging being higher than gasoline. Not having a dedicated Level 2 charging option at one’s home could lead to a reliance on superchargers.
Having a Tesla means drivers needn’t worry about regular oil changes and transmission flushes every 60,000 miles. However, the slew of recalls, and potentially high cost of parts breaking could dissuade them. Not to mention having to purchase new tires and swap them out more frequently, to boot.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Tesla via email and Kimberly via TikTok comment.
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