Tesla has secured a new credit union partner to help reduce monthly electric car payments amid high interest rates.
Over the last year, one of the biggest storylines around Tesla has been the high interest rates affecting prices.
Tesla has consistently reduced its prices throughout the year in order to keep demand up – partly due to high interest rates increasing monthly payments.
CEO Elon Musk has made at least a version of this comment every other month all year – this one is from Tesla’s last earnings call in October:
I am worried about the high interest rate environment that we’re in. I just can’t emphasize this enough, that the vast majority of people buying a car is about the monthly payment. And as interest rates rise, the proportion of that monthly payment that is interest increases naturally.
Now, Tesla has secured a new partner in their fight against interest rates.
Origence announced that it signed a new partnership with Tesla:
Origence, the leading credit union lending technology company in the U.S., and Tesla, the largest EV manufacturer in the world, announce a partnership to offer credit union financing to EV buyers through the Tesla website. This partnership will provide Tesla buyers seeking affordable monthly payments with more options through credit union financing.
Origence is a technology company that offers its FI Connect platform, which offers a sort of point-of-sale marketplace for customers, retailers, and credit unions.
It will basically help Tesla buyers match with a credit union.
Credit unions are not-for-profit, member-owned financial institutions, federally insured for safety, and they generally can offer lower interest rates since they are member-owned.
It will be interesting to see if Tesla can start offering lower interest rates with this new partnership.
Currently, Tesla offers $4,500 (10%) down, 6.69% APR over 72 months on the Model Y, its most popular model.