2026 Tesla Model Y Performance is now available to order in the US and a reservation before midnight on September 30th (1-hour and 45-minutes left) should theoretically lock in the $7,500 Federal EV Tax Credit (unverified so proceed at your own risk) - Downside is a $250 reservation fee / Upside is $7,500 discount if you qualify with a potential delivery in December:
Happy to share my referral link via DM for those who are also looking to place an order:
And just like that 
It’s gone…
Imagine notifying customers hours before the credit ends to lock in this car …. it’s not like they had several months to do so …
It really does seem short-sighted for Tesla to drop such a highly sought-after vehicle at the last minute like this
My guess is they were focused on moving Long-Range inventory as aggressively as possible, assuming the Performance variant would generate enough buzz to sell itself once the federal tax credit expired and today’s lucky visitors just benefited from an early preview
I would miss the competition, but not Tesla cars.
After buying / leasing 5-Teslas (3XY) alongside an Acura ZDX, an Audi e-tron GT, a Ford e-Transit, a Hummer EV, a Mercedes EQB, and a Porsche Macan EV I can safely say that Tesla blows the competition away with their UI, OTA updates, FSD, and supercharging - It’s not even close
QC is the only thing that has been a serious issue, but even that has improved significantly with the recent updates - I’m a huge German and Japanese car enthusiast so ICE will always have a warm place in my heart, but the EV competition blows so this is a major setback for the competition in the US
I’ve been mulling over getting another Tesla 3 (base,no options), and giving my son my 2022 Tesla 3 SR+ which is only worth around 20K these days!
Last week, on the Tesla website, it priced out at $589/month all-in…drive offs, taxes divided by 36 month here in LA.
This morning, with $7500 credit gone, it prices out on the website at $584 with taxes and about $2700 drive offs…so only $2700 more. Tesla had some nice margins in these leases, or I’m reading them incorrectly.
Meanwhile, I have a hunch (which is often wrong!) that EV leases are going to get progressively better as these cars sit on lots.
Don’t really care either way, as my son doesn’t “need” a car that much right now. And the extra $3000 in insurance isn’t something I’m looking forward to either!
EVs will likely continue to depreciate faster than their ICE counterparts - Not because they lack value, but because innovation is rapidly outpacing longevity. Tesla stands out in this environment with strong margins, while many of its competitors are losing money on every sale.
While Tesla claims the federal rebate is included in the lease pricing, my guess is they didn’t fully pass it along, which might explain why there’s only a $2,700 difference in practice. I don’t think pricing will simply increase by $7,500 now given the current market situation.
Scale should eventually drive more competitive pricing, but with subsidies winding down and slim margins for traditional automakers, Tesla’s relative strength has positioned the company for continued growth.
As a business owner, I both admire and compete with my peers. Competition forces us to stay innovative, humble, and focused on the bottom-line which ultimately benefits the end user. IMHO, favoring ICE over EVs is shortsighted and risks stalling national progress in a global playing field with rapid advancement to AI where energy equates to dominance.
