Elon Musk built his empire on government help, including a tax credit that expired Tuesday.
Tesla raised the lease prices for its most popular electric vehicles on Wednesday, according to figures posted to the company’s website. The change comes after the federal EV tax credit, which was $7,500 for new vehicles and leases and $4,000 for used vehicles, expired on Tuesday.
Tesla’s model Y lease has jumped from between $479 and $529 per month to between $529 and $599 per month, Jalopnik points out. And Model 3 lease prices went from between $349 and $699 per month to between $429 and $759 per month.
Tesla still sells more EVs in the U.S. than any other company, but Elon Musk’s market share has eroded in recent years. Tesla accounted for over 80% of all EV sales back in 2017, at the dawn of President Donald Trump’s first term. But that’s down to just 38% this past August, according to CNBC.
Musk has built his empire on companies that rely on massive government funding, through contracts, loans, subsidies, and tax credits, according to the , which recently tallied it all at $38 billion.
