TESLA

A new Tesla Model 3 at 19,990 euros in France? It’s theoretically possible

Even if the government has recently put a shave on government aid for the purchase of an electric car, it is still possible to benefit from one or more aids. Contrary to what one might think, they can be combined, which makes it possible to arrive at a final price that is more than interesting compared to the front price. But, as we will see, to benefit from all this aid, several conditions must be met.

Are you lost with the price of Tesla? This is more than normal, since the pricing policy applied by Elon Musk’s firm keeps changing.

We also wrote an explanatory file on the subject last January to try to understand why prices changed so much. After the recent (and drastic) price cuts in April, Tesla has taken the opposite path, with price increases in France on the Model Y.

This small price increase was more or less predictable, even if the Tesla Model 3 remains preserved in France since, unlike other countries, it has not seen its prices increase. At the time of writing these lines, excluding ecological bonuses, the Tesla Model 3 is exchanged for 41,990 euros in Propulsion, 49,990 euros in Long Autonomy and 53,990 euros in Performance.

Recently, our colleagues from Caradisiac brought to light the fact that it was possible to acquire a new Tesla Model 3 for only 19 990 euros, i.e. the price of a Dacia Spring excluding bonuses. A sum which is obviously mouth-watering and which makes you want to look very seriously at the purchase of the American electric sedan… Before its prices surely start to rise again!

But how can you get a discount of more than 50% on the purchase of a new Tesla Model 3? Basically, this is the Propulsion version subject to the ecological bonus. And as you must suspect, it will be necessary to combine the aid in order to arrive at less than 20,000 euros. Do not expect a price discount from Tesla, the manufacturer does not. So let’s go step by step. Let’s start with the most important aid: the ecological bonus.

Up to 7,000 euros of ecological bonus...Since 1is January 2023, the ecological bonus for the acquisition of a new vehicle is reserved for electric passenger cars whose acquisition cost is less than 47,000 euros and whose mass is less than 2.4 tonnes. Our Tesla Model 3 Propulsion fits perfectly into this box.

It gets complicated (already!) a little later concerning the famous amount of the bonus. This amounts to 5 000 euros for buying a car. 5,000 euros is the bonus you will get from the start, regardless of your resources. Thus, the car drops to 36,990 euros.

This aid may be increased by 2 000 euros for households whose reference tax income per unit is less than or equal to 14,089 euros, i.e. a maximum aid of 7,000 euros for the acquisition. If you enter this box, the price of the car drops to 34,990 euros.

OK, but it remains to be seen whether customers with a reference tax income per unit less than or equal to 14,089 euros are able to buy a new car at more than 30,000 euros.

Up to 6,000 euros with the conversion bonus...Are you already out of nails? Wait to see the sequel. The ecological bonus can be combined with the famous conversion bonus. Since 1is January 2023, the conversion bonus is reserved for households whose reference income (RFR) per unit is less than or equal to 22,983 euros.

Its amount is increased for households in the first two income deciles (share less than or equal to 6,358 euros) and for households in the first five income deciles and high rollers (reference tax income/share less than or equal to 14,089 euros and home-to-work distance greater than 30 km or travel more than 12,000 km/year as part of their professional activity with their personal vehicle), for which the premium can reach up to 6,000 euros for the acquisition of a car.

To benefit from the conversion bonus, you must have a pre-2011 diesel or pre-2006 petrol vehicle to scrap. If you still meet all the conditions from here, congratulations to you, your Tesla Model 3 will drop to 28,990 euros. We are therefore done with national aid. Let’s now move on to local aid, which is not necessarily easier to obtain.

1,000 euros in aid if you live in a ZFE-m...Less complicated to obtain, but you must still benefit from the conversion bonus, if your home is located in a ZFE-m, it allows you to benefit from an increase of the famous bonus of 1,000 eurosthus dropping the price to 27,990 euros.

Currently, eleven cities have set up a low mobility emission zone (ZFE-m): Grand Paris, Lyon, Aix-Marseille, Toulouse, Nice, Montpellier, Strasbourg, Grenoble, Rouen, Reims and Saint-Étienne.

Up to 6,000 euros in local aid...Each ZFE-m has its own assistance policy for the purchase of an electric car, and the one located in Paris is particularly generous. Indeed, it offers assistance for the acquisition of an electric car included between 1,500 euros and 6,000 euros maximum.

Again, there are income conditions, but logically, if you have fulfilled the national aid, you will have to be able to fulfill the local aid.

In this case, to benefit from the 6,000 euros, you must have a reference tax income per unit of less than 6,300 euros (limited to 80% of the cost of the vehicle, state aid deducted). It is also possible to benefit from this aid, without income conditions, as an entrepreneur. So here we are, at this stage, with a Tesla Model 3 Propulsion at 21,990 euros.

Up to 2,000 euros in aid thanks to local authorities...Do you want more ? It’s possible. Indeed, a local authority, located in the same ZFE-m, can also offer aid for purchase.

It makes it possible to benefit from a government bonus on the increase in the “premium ZFE-m” by an equivalent amount with the help of the local authority. The limit is at 2 000 euros. With this, you therefore arrive at 19,990 euros.

A calculation method applicable to most electric cars...This calculation method is valid with all electric cars sold below the threshold of 47,000 euros in order to benefit from the basic ecological bonus. Our colleagues from Caradisiac have also made the same calculation, but with a Dacia Spring, and by withdrawing all the aid the new car can return for the modest sum of…184 euros.

To achieve such discounts, it is therefore necessary to fulfill conditions that are almost impossible to combineif only for the part relating to taxable income, because it is hard to imagine a person with low incomes buying a new car at 19,990 euros, even once the aid has been deducted, while also fulfilling other conditions. , like living for example in the right place (in a ZFE-m, and preferably in Paris) and while having an old car to scrap.

The calculation is more fun than anything else, and above all makes it possible to highlight the legitimacy of certain aids, which seem to be more communication tools rather than real solutions that actually make the electric car more affordable. And given the recent rumors concerning the eligibility of the ecological bonus in France in the years to come, with a slight smell of protectionism in the air, it could be that the electric car becomes less and less accessible if the manufacturers do not lower their prices. But electric cars should become cheaper than thermal cars in a short time.

Source image: Sugar Design