Another day, another concerning claim by Tesla on social media.
Recently, Tesla came under fire for supporting the idea of visually impaired people relying on Full Self-Driving mode to have “freedom” and claiming that FSD would prevent hydroplaning. There is no denying that Tesla’s Autopilot can sometimes do some pretty cool things, but these absolute statements raised alarms among those concerned about public safety. This comes as a mother sues Tesla after a father and son died inside a Model 3 using FSD that careened off the road and into a tree.
This time around, the false claims aren’t about vehicle features, but rather misleading prices.
Tesla, just stop the cap on social media
On April 4th, Tesla tweeted: “Model 3 lease now starts at $299/mo in the US. Can drive itself anywhere with FSD Supervised and needs almost no maintenance.”
At first glance, it sounds great. Just $299 a month? However, a few people have been calling out Tesla for its misleading claim. One person noted that you need to put down over $5,600 to reach $299, which would get you a rear-wheel-drive Model 3 with no features or add-ons. Without putting money down, the rear-wheel-drive option started at $458, and all-wheel-drive went up to $623. Another person added that Full Self-Driving mode isn’t included. Adding that would be $99 a month, and that’s not counting other monthly subscriptions.
Tesla supporters argued that the Tesla Model 3 still has a relatively low monthly payment compared to the average in the United States: $767 for a new car, according to NerdWallet. And yes, the Model 3 is pretty reasonably priced, but that’s not the issue here. The issue is false advertising. The tweet didn’t mention that you’d need to put down money or pay for extra features like the Full Self-Driving mode it mentioned.
Of course, Tesla isn’t alone in this kind of false advertising. It’s very common for automakers and dealerships to put very low monthly payments in their marketing. These low payments often don’t include things like mileage, taxes, and fees. A lease that’s even calculated at 5,000 more miles could add $50 a month. Sales tax and registration fees will also increase lease payments by more than 10%. It also doesn’t account for the loan itself, which could make the monthly amount even higher depending on credit score and other factors.
Then there’s software-as-a-service, which many EV automakers have adopted as part of their business plans. Tesla, Lucid, and other EVs have a ton of features behind paywalls, with drivers paying for various connectivity options each month. While drivers claim to hate this concept, even GM states that it has 13 million subscribers right now. Full Self-Driving mode is $99 per month. It’s also $10 for Premium Connectivity. Many Tesla owners have felt that FSD isn’t worth the extra cost and opted for free Autopilot. But the issue is Tesla’s tweet appears to claim that FSD is part of the $299 payment.
At the end of the day, this is one of Tesla’s least harmful claims. At least you won’t crash from it or something. But it still makes me wonder why Tesla is allowed to keep getting away with making all these strange claims on social media. It really should have ended back when Elon Musk claimed the Cybertruck was bulletproof and could float like a boat. Especially when Musk seems to really have a chokehold on his followers, who actually sunk their Cybertrucks trying out “wade mode.” Yes, multiple people believed Musk that their 6,600-pound steel truck could float on water. The thing gets stuck in puddles. I almost feel bad for the Cybertruck’s embarrassing existence at this point.
As they said in that one movie: “With great power comes great responsibility.” People are clearly listening to Musk’s out-there claims, so it seems alarming that he’s allowed to keep making them. Just remember to do your own research and never listen to Tesla’s X account. As you can see above, the website itself says that you need to put down nearly $4,000 to get that $299 monthly payment — and that’s excluding taxes and fees. The Premium and Performance will cost you even more, of course. It’s still not too shabby, but it’s not what it seems if you listen to Tesla on X.
Which you shouldn’t. Ever.
@ttalb LEGEND5 hours ago
