LOS ANGELES (Bloomberg) -- Tesla Motors Inc., a year after creating a lease-style program for its Model S electric sedan, is setting up a financing arm targeted at corporate buyers of the premium battery-powered vehicle.
Small and medium-sized businesses will be able to calculate the cost of leasing as they configure the car on Tesla’s Web site, the company said today in a statement. The new Tesla Finance unit will offer loans from partner banks in addition to a resale-value guarantee available under the current program.
“These financing options, when combined with the fuel savings of Model S, provide an attractive value proposition,” the manufacturer said.
The move by the carmaker named for inventor Nikola Tesla comes as the company led by Elon Musk targets a 56 percent production boost this year of the Model S, priced from $71,000. Exports of the car to China are about to begin, and Tesla has set a goal of expanding business in Europe through 2014.
