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Tesla's new $408 per month business lease deal for Model S reminds us of last 'revolutionay' deal

Almost exactly a year ago, Tesla Motors announced what it called a "revolutionary" lease deal for the Model S. Since the electric automaker used some unusual assumptions in its calculations to get to a headline-worthy $500-a-month "true cost of ownership," the company had to quickly change its tune. Some of the same assumptions are back in a business lease deal from new subsidiary, Tesla Finance, for $408 a month (sort of) that was announced today. Tesla is touting the easy-to-understand lease agreement, which takes all of three pages and is "written in plain language." The agreement can also be signed digitally on the car's touchscreen when the car arrives. That, plus the low cost, is the good news. The business lease program is currently only available in ten states. The estimated effective cost of $408 a month sure sounds great but, just as with the first consumer lease plan for the Model S, there are a lot of caveats to be aware of. For one thing, the actual monthly payment is $1,012, well over twice the $408 number. Tesla estimates that you'll save $261 a month in gasoline costs and $343 a month in business tax benefits (with Tesla calculating a 40 percent effective tax rate and 70 percent business use). Those gas savings, "are calculated assuming $0.11 per kilowatt hour compared to paying $4.90 per gallon for premium gasoline with a fuel efficiency of 20 miles per gallon," so if your business already runs a fleet of Toyota Priuses, you can forget the $408 number. Oh, and the business lease program is currently only available in ten states - CA, CO, CT, FL, IL, MA, MD, NY, TX, and WA. Yes, that list includes Texas, where you can't officially buy a Model S. Tesla spokeswoman Shanna Hendriks told AutoblogGreen that the company has a lessor's license in the state of Texas, which allows it to offer the business leasing deal there. The dealership license, which the company can't get in Texas, is the thing that is preventing sales. No matter which of the ten business lease states you're in, the first vehicles under this program have an estimated delivery date of June 2014. Read more below. Tesla Business Leasing By The Tesla Motors Team April 8, 2014 A year ago, Tesla introduced a Resale Value Guarantee that gives customers the option to return their Model S after three years for a known value.

Elon Musk goes deep, says 'Nobody should be CEO forever'

When someone achieves as much as Elon Musk has, it's easy to become fascinated not just with what the person is doing, but who that person is on a personal level. Sure, many of us are curious about what the future of Tesla or SpaceX looks like from inside the mind of its CEO, but some of us are also curious what he eats for breakfast. In a recent interview with Auto Bild, the German interviewers do a great job of getting Musk to open up about his business plans, his daily habits and even some of his deeper, more meaningful musings. "Nobody should be CEO forever." – Elon Musk Musk says he would likely remain CEO of Tesla Motors for three or four more years, at least long enough to see volume production of the upcoming Model III and building of the Gigafactory (for which Musk was able to command enormous incentives from the state of Nevada). "I will never leave Tesla forever, but I may not be CEO forever," Musk said. "Nobody should be CEO forever." When hiring, Musk looks for "evidence of exceptional ability" and "a track record of exceptional achievement." That does not necessarily include a college degree. "If you look at, say, people like Bill Gates or Larry Ellison, Steve Jobs, these guys didn't graduate from college, but if you had a chance to hire them, of course that would be a good idea." At an interesting point in the conversation, the interviewers ask Musk to describe himself. He says that he has an innate sense of drive and that he seeks the truth, but it's interesting to watch him dig deep to come up with an answer. "All these introspective questions are interesting," he said. "I don't get asked these very often." Musk goes on to talk about how he originally expected both SpaceX and Tesla to fail, how he lived on borrowed money to keep his companies afloat and even how he'd like to die on the planet Mars. While we didn't get to hear any more about the demon that is artificial intelligence, the video is an interesting journey through the life and mind of an exceptional person. Watch the whole thing below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Tesla owners will celebrate Supercharger network with DC meet-up

Groucho Marx famously said that he'd never belong to a club that would have him as a member. When it comes to this particular club, though, we're going to beg to differ. The Tesla Motors Club is putting out the call for what they're calling the "All Superchargers Lead to DC" tour for Presidents Day weekend that will give EV fans a chance to meet up, brag about their vehicles and do a tidy tour of the nation's capital. The agenda starts with a meet up Saturday, February 15 at Supercharger locations outside of DC, in either Hagerstown, MD; Glen Allen, VA; or Newark, DE. Once everyone is charged up, they will drive towards the city and the party really starts at an Arlington, VA hotel. Sunday includes a scenic drive through Washington, DC, as well as a visit to the Air and Space Museum at Dulles Airport. Monday includes a discussion of global domination before the drivers head their separate ways. The club spells out its agenda here and we've heard that there are over 50 attendees and cars signed up. Who's driving from the furthest away, we wonder. Tesla says it has 65 stations in its North American supercharger network. These stations can provide as many as 170 miles of range on a 30-minute charge. Not surprisingly, most of these stations are dotted either on the West or East Coasts but Tesla says the final parts to make a cross-country drive will be installed in the next few weeks.