Tesla Finance delivered 2,934 Model S and Model X vehicles through its lease program in the third quarter, which represents a 493% jump in deliveries year over year, according to the company’s earnings report released yesterday.
The year-over-year increase is largely due to Tesla’s inclusion of the luxury, crossover SUV, dubbed the Model X in its captive leasing program, which only began deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2015.
These increased deliveries have also jumped the company’s assets in operating lease vehicles by 116% to $2.9 billion, up from $1.4 billion the prior year.
Tesla increased its borrowing capacity by acquiring a $300 million line of credit through Deutsche Bank into its own retail financing facility and the company expanded indirect lending capacity by 80% through it’s largest U.S. partner. The company also said it plans to add a new leasing partner in the fourth quarter.
“We’re always looking for ways where we can provide compelling and useful financing programs for our consumers, whether that’s a lease through a partner, or whether that’s a loan through a partner, or whether we leverage our own balance sheet in the case of a direct lease, we’ll do that too,” Tesla’s Chief Financial Officer Jason Wheeler said on the earnings call. “Really, it’s about the consumer experience. And if we can use other folks’ capital for that, great. If we use our capital for it, that’s fine too, and we’re willing to make those decisions.”
