Discovering Tesla
I just recently leased a brand new Tesla, and I'd consider myself an expert at this now. I'm going to break down how I went through the process to help you, if you're leaning towards getting one!
First of all, I decided to go with a Tesla because after running around to dealerships for a couple weekends in a row, and only realizing that new cars are much more expensive than I thought, and the whole process to lease (or buy) a new car is extremely daunting and is quite the time suck, just didn't seem like it was meant to be for me.
Not after my fiance, Parker, opened up my mind to the idea of a Tesla.
I had totally scratched the idea of me getting into a Tesla as my next car because I thought they were too expensive, too hard to maintain and not my style.
Well, I came to find the exact opposite after test driving one.
Out with the old systems, vehicles and way of doing things and in with the NEW.
First what you're going to want to do is go test drive one. I promise you. It's the smoothest, fastest, safest ride, ever.
Figure Out What Model May be Best For You
- Tesla Model S
- Best for: Luxury sedan with high performance and long-range driving.
- Features: Premium interior, fast acceleration, advanced autopilot capabilities, and a range of up to 520 miles (Plaid+ version).
- Tesla Model 3
- Best for: Midsize sedan with a balance of performance, range, and affordability.
- Features: Sleek design, impressive range (up to 353 miles), autopilot capabilities, and available dual-motor all-wheel drive.
- Tesla Model X
- Best for: Luxury SUV with versatility and advanced features.
- Features: Falcon-wing doors, spacious interior with seating for up to seven adults, towing capacity, impressive acceleration, and range up to 340 miles.
- Tesla Model Y
- Best for: Compact SUV with a mix of performance, space, and versatility.
- Features: All-electric crossover design, ample cargo space, available third-row seating, advanced autopilot, and range up to 326 miles.
Then when you know what model you want to go with, then you want to figure out what upgrades and features are most important for your car:
- Wheel design and size
- Exterior color (white, black, red, blue, silver)
- Number of seats (5-7 seat options)
- Tow hitch or not
- Interior seat color (white, black)
The Smart Way to Order is Through Incoming Inventory
The smartest way to go about ordering your dream Tesla is to order it from incoming inventory. Of course, if money isn't an issue for you and you just want to place a custom order, you can do that, but you will save a lot of time and a lot of money, by ordering it through their inventory.
Tesla vehicles in incoming inventory are already manufactured and ready for delivery. They have specific configurations, colors, and options that were pre-selected by the manufacturer or dealership that they're being shipped to.
Savings on incoming inventory can come from potential discounts, incentives, or promotions offered by Tesla or the dealership to clear out existing inventory. You also save on delivery times, as incoming inventory vehicles are usually available for immediate or quicker delivery compared to custom orders.
Custom orders allow you to choose your specific features, colors, options and configurations based on your preferences. However, there are not usually any additional discounts or incentives that may be available for what is already inbound to the dealership
This is why this next step took me some time, I wanted to get every single spec I knew that was a non-negotiable for my dream Tesla, but I also had some time on my side. So, if you have the time to wait for your car, and you want to get every spec, and every possible discount possible, you have to do it this way.
Tips for Tesla Inventory Search
Every single morning, right when you wake up, check Tesla's Inventory. Save your tab with your zip code, model, trim, exterior paint, interior paint, wheels, seat layout, etc. And check it every day until you find everything you want (and more!) for your car. This personally took me three months, but I was also looking during the busiest time for Tesla (end of year & beginning of the year) when they had a lot of incentives going on.
There's really no cheat code around this, I looked into seeing if there was a way to get pinged when your dream car showed up in inventory, but this doesn't exist, and this is why I recommend checking every single day.
The inventory cars FLY off the website. Especially the model I was looking at, the Tesla Model Y which had/has a $7,500 federal tax credit for all eligible buyers to receive off the purchase price of all new 2024 Model Ys.
So don't wait, if you see your dream car, you have to jump on it. I made this mistake one too many times, which delayed my process. I thought, oh it'll still be there in the morning, I'll order it then…. but 10/10 times it'd be gone.
My dream Tesla specs:
- Model Y
- Long Range All-Wheel Drive
- White Exterior
- White Interior
- 20" Wheels
- Five Seat Interior
All you have to pay to order your car is $250. And they take Apple Pay. It's extremely easy to price everything out right online too. You can see how much your monthly payment will be by playing with the downpayment, your term length, and annual mileage.
I put down $0, for 36 months with 10,000 miles.
I don't drive much over 7,000 miles a year.
There's really no benefit to putting down money on the car, and you can see that in your calculations that you're able to do on the website. It's not like you put the money down now and it saves you in the long run, it really is just black and white, put the money down now or pay that amount monthly.
What is important to note, and not that it mattered to me, but you cannot purchase your Tesla after your lease. It's in your contract on the lease, but I did think this was interesting. Please research more if this is something that affects your purchase decision.
Okay also important to note as you continue your daily/weekly search for your dream Tesla, but you can plug in different zip codes. If you plug in different zip codes, you can see what's in inventory in different cities and states.
At one point we had contemplated flying to Texas to visit family and then drive the car back down to Florida and do a roadtrip. This was really only a thought when a major incentive over the holidays was about to end and we would have needed to take delivery of the car before the incentive expired.
We didn't end up needing to do this. I listened to my gut and knew that there would be another deal in the new year, and that my patience would be worth it. And it was.
If you're willing to drive further within your own state to get your dream Tesla, then you can up your "Search within" results to 200 miles or "All deliverable".
Thankfully, as a birthday miracle for myself and with only three months left on my Jeep lease, my dream Tesla appeared right on time and not that far away from my home city in West Palm Beach.
This is where the fun really begins… when you place your order on your car!!!
You'll get an email congratulating you, and confirming your order from Tesla. This will include details such as your order number, chosen configuration, VIN, delivery timeline, and any remaining payment information.
You will create an account with Tesla and pick out your delivery date and appointment time (for your incoming inventory vehicle), pretty much immediately.
Download the Tesla app and start using that to go through your checklist of everything that you have to do before you pickup your new car!
I am a very type-a person and love to be hyper organized with my lists and planning, this process was extremely helpful for my brain.
In the app you'll follow a very simple guided process of setting everything up, from getting insurance for the car, to getting a trade-in offer on your current car from Tesla (yes you can trade in your current lease vehicle with a different company and get a trade-in offer to go towards your new purchase), to signing all your paperwork… IN THE APP.
Dealing with dealerships are a thing of the past. Who wants to voluntarily spend an entire Saturday in a stuffy sales office with horrible fluorescent lighting, and cranky sales people who don't love their job? No offense if this is you, but the process for purchasing any cars outside of Tesla is just not doing it right.
We've entered a new era with Tesla. Tesla is with the times of their people. We all want to sign our paperwork, crunch numbers, and call new insurance companies from the comfort of our couch. And on our own time! There is no rush to get the Tesla app to-do list done (just has to all be submitted about 24-hours before your pickup), and you can take the steps day by day and break it up, which is what I loved most.
I was able to get everything I needed to get done day after day, and get my dream Tesla sorted out all from my cozy home.
Pre-Delivery Tasks: Getting Ready for Your Dream Car
- Cancel your current car's insurance for the day after your get your Tesla delivery.
- Cancel your current car's Sirius XM (if you have it) for the day after you pick-up your Tesla.
- Clean out your current car (for photos that will be taken of it in-app for Trade-In).
- Download the Tesla app.
- Create your Tesla profile.
- Complete pre-delivery in-app tasks:
- Registration - upload your driver's license and provide all necessary information that they need to collect. You can also have a co-registrant complete their Tesla profile here as well.
- Delivery location - confirm the location for pickup and decide on if you're transferring your plates to your new car.
- Trade-in - it's important to get this done within the first 7 days of your order or 3 days if you have an Inventory order. They accept most vehicles, not just Tesla vehicles. During this step, you will need to take photos of your current car. Working with their team is very easy.
- Payment method - you'll be asked to confirm if you plan to finance or lease your Tesla (Tesla Lease, Tesla Loan, or Self-Arrange Loan). After you choose this, the Tesla team will reach out closer to delivery to finalize the details.
- Purchase a home charger for your Tesla if you have a home and intend to charge it this way.
- Figure out what Insurance company you're going to have insure your Tesla (this step takes some time).
- Set up your monthly insurance payments for your Tesla (auto-pay) and create an account with your new insurance company.
- Accept your Tesla Trade-in once that comes in.
- Get a release of plates confirmation from the company that owns your current car. You may need to show this to your Tesla sales rep.
- When you are ready to apply for Tesla Lending or Leasing complete this in the app. Select your preferred terms, review the pricing breakdown, and enter your information. Once submitted, Tesla will present you with the best offer for you from a list of banks. Once you receive your offer, you can accept it in the app. Your monthly payments on your Tesla will not start until after you take delivery.
- Your approved bank will send you information in the mail, or email and you can set-up your account with them. Set up your monthly payments with them.
- Research where to get your Tesla tinted and even schedule an appointment before taking delivery.
- Make your final payment for your fees due on your Tesla before delivery.
- Fill out all paperwork for your new Tesla on the app.
- Make sure you have removed everything from your current car/trade-in vehicle, have both sets of keys, and have the vehicle's registration handy.
- Order your new Sunpass (if you live in Florida) ahead of your Tesla delivery.
- Fill out your HOV
Here is a video to "[Get to Know Your Pre-Delivery Tasks]" (https://www.tesla.com/support/interactive-videos/get-to-know-your-pre-delivery-tasks) from Tesla.com.
Deep Dive on Tesla Car Insurance
Something important to note, but I had to do a lot of research about what car insurance company I was going to go with.
I had been a long time customer of Geico's for all three of my jeeps that I've had in Florida, and I thought surely they'd give me a good price from being a loyal customer, for my new car, but I thought wrong.
Some insurance companies see the Tesla cars as a very "safe" vehicle and will therefore cut you a bit of a break on your monthly payment. It's rare that they get into accidents with all the cameras and sensors that they have. However other insurance companies see the Tesla cars as very expensive vehicles with expensive parts to replace if they do get into an accident, and therefore they price their monthly on them higher.
Geico offered me $1,727 for a 6-month premium on my Model Y.
State Farm offered me $1,281 for a 6-month premium.
Progressive offered me $1,416 for a 6-month premium.
But the cheapest and best that I was able to find was working with USAA. They offered me $981 for a 6-month premium. Not only were they the cheapest insurance carrier by a lot, but they were also extremely easy to work with and super kind. I am so excited to have an account with them now.
By luck, I was able to get an account with USAA for my Tesla because my fiance's father is a vet (thank you for serving our country, papa Rex). USAA primarily offers insurance and financial services to members of the military, veterans, and their eligible family members. Call your family members and see if you're eligible to get it!
I do want to also note that Tesla does have their own insurance, and if you're lucky enough to have Tesla Insurance in your state, I highly recommend you go with them. I've researched that their pricing has competitive rates and streamlined coverage tailored specifically for Tesla vehicles and owners.
Trade-Ins Made Easy: My Experience with Trading-In with Tesla
Also I cannot recommend enough, that if you are able to trade-in your vehicle, that doing it with Tesla is an extremely easy and seamless process.
I thought that the company that owned my Jeep was going to get my vehicle back and for the full price and I'd reap zero benefits. However…. Tesla gave me an offer on my Jeep (after submitting photos and information about it via the Tesla app) that was above the purchase price and I was able to get $1,805 towards my Tesla. This net trade-in credit was immediately applied to the price of my new car once I accepted their offer. I'll dive more into these details, but when I picked up my Tesla and dropped off my Jeep, it was the easiest thing ever. They just made sure the car was the car that I had described, brought both my car keys, and the trade was done.
Okay so now here we are, finally within 24-hours of getting your NEW TESLA, and you just need to make sure all your ducks are in a row, everything is signed and completed in the app, and that just make sure you show up to your appointment time, on time.
Stay tuned for Part 2, where I'll dive into the post-delivery experience and share some valuable tips for new Tesla owners.
