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Tesla loan approvals to get fast tracked by Philippine banks–with high interest

Credit: Tesla Philippines Official/X

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A number of banks in the Philippines recently promoted their financing packages for Tesla customers in the country. While the financing packages would likely attract a good number of customers to the electric vehicle maker, the interest rates for Model 3 and Model Y loans in the Philippines are extremely high. 

Tesla made waves in the Philippines after it opened its flagship store in Taguig, Manila. The electric vehicle maker also incited quite a lot of conversations among local car enthusiasts when it requested that its flagship store not be called a dealership. For now, orders for the Model 3 and Model Y have been opened in the Philippines, with deliveries for the vehicle expected in early 2025.

A look at Tesla Philippines’ order pages for the Model 3 and Model Y shows that financing deals are currently offered by two Philippine-based banks, UnionBank and RCBC. In a recent announcement, UnionBank noted that it would offer a faster approval process for Tesla customers in the country who wish to purchase their all-electric vehicles through a bank loan. RCBC, on the other hand, announced a fully digital auto loan process designed for Tesla customers in the country.

“As one of Tesla’s preferred financial providers in the Philippines, UnionBank is making it easier for more Filipinos to unlock the future of electric driving… With competitive interest rates and a streamlined application process, UnionBank is dedicated to providing a seamless experience for those looking to make the move to electric driving,” UnionBank noted in a statement.

While these initiatives from UnionBank and RCBC will likely make Teslas more attractive for Filipino drivers, the high interest rates involved in the actual loans for the Model 3 and Model Y could effectively result in the two mainstream all-electric vehicles only being attainable to higher-tier customers. This is because, as per Tesla Philippines’ official website, a 60-month loan for a Model 3 or Model Y with a 20% downpayment involves a whopping Add-on rate of 29%.

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Unfortunately, extremely high interest rates for auto loans are not unusually high in the Philippines. This is one of the reasons why some mainstream cars such as the Toyota Camry or even the Corolla are perceived as premium vehicles by some local consumers. Hopefully, Tesla Philippines could eventually come up with a way to offer the Model 3 and Model Y with a lower APR. If Tesla Philippines could accomplish this, it could effectively result in a mainstream EV revolution in the country.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla ends Full Self-Driving purchase option in the U.S.

In January, Musk announced that Tesla would remove the ability to purchase the suite outright for $8,000. This would give the vehicle Full Self-Driving for its entire lifespan, but Tesla intended to move away from it, for several reasons, one being that a tranche in the CEO’s pay package requires 10 million active subscriptions of FSD.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has officially ended the option to purchase the Full Self-Driving suite outright, a move that was announced for the United States market in January by CEO Elon Musk.

The driver assistance suite is now exclusively available in the U.S. as a subscription, which is currently priced at $99 per month.

Tesla moved away from the outright purchase option in an effort to move more people to the subscription program, but there are concerns over its current price and the potential for it to rise.

In January, Musk announced that Tesla would remove the ability to purchase the suite outright for $8,000. This would give the vehicle Full Self-Driving for its entire lifespan, but Tesla intended to move away from it, for several reasons, one being that a tranche in the CEO’s pay package requires 10 million active subscriptions of FSD.

Although Tesla moved back the deadline in other countries, it has now taken effect in the U.S. on Sunday morning. Tesla updated its website to reflect this:

There are still some concerns regarding its price, as $99 per month is not where many consumers are hoping to see the subscription price stay.

Musk has said that as capabilities improve, the price will go up, but it seems unlikely that 10 million drivers will want to pay an extra $100 every month for the capability, even if it is extremely useful.

Instead, many owners and fans of the company are calling for Tesla to offer a different type of pricing platform. This includes a tiered-system that would let owners pick and choose the features they would want for varying prices, or even a daily, weekly, monthly, and annual pricing option, which would incentivize longer-term purchasing.

Although Musk and other Tesla are aware of FSD’s capabilities and state is is worth much more than its current price, there could be some merit in the idea of offering a price for Supervised FSD and another price for Unsupervised FSD when it becomes available.

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Musk bankers looking to trim xAI debt after SpaceX merger: report

xAI has built up $18 billion in debt over the past few years, with some of this being attributed to the purchase of social media platform Twitter (now X) and the creation of the AI development company. A new financing deal would help trim some of the financial burden that is currently present ahead of the plan to take SpaceX public sometime this year.

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Credit: SpaceX

Elon Musk’s bankers are looking to trim the debt that xAI has taken on over the past few years, following the company’s merger with SpaceX, a new report from Bloomberg says.

xAI has built up $18 billion in debt over the past few years, with some of this being attributed to the purchase of social media platform Twitter (now X) and the creation of the AI development company. Bankers are trying to create some kind of financing plan that would trim “some of the heavy interest costs” that come with the debt.

The financing deal would help trim some of the financial burden that is currently present ahead of the plan to take SpaceX public sometime this year. Musk has essentially confirmed that SpaceX would be heading toward an IPO last month.

SpaceX IPO is coming, CEO Elon Musk confirms

The report indicates that Morgan Stanley is expected to take the leading role in any financing plan, citing people familiar with the matter. Morgan Stanley, along with Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase & Co., are all expected to be in the lineup of banks leading SpaceX’s potential IPO.

Since Musk acquired X, he has also had what Bloomberg says is a “mixed track record with debt markets.” Since purchasing X a few years ago with a $12.5 billion financing package, X pays “tens of millions in interest payments every month.”

That debt is held by Bank of America, Barclays, Mitsubishi, UFJ Financial, BNP Paribas SA, Mizuho, and Société Générale SA.

X merged with xAI last March, which brought the valuation to $45 billion, including the debt.

SpaceX announced the merger with xAI earlier this month, a major move in Musk’s plan to alleviate Earth of necessary data centers and replace them with orbital options that will be lower cost:

“In the long term, space-based AI is obviously the only way to scale. To harness even a millionth of our Sun’s energy would require over a million times more energy than our civilization currently uses! The only logical solution, therefore, is to transport these resource-intensive efforts to a location with vast power and space. I mean, space is called “space” for a reason.”

The merger has many advantages, but one of the most crucial is that it positions the now-merged companies to fund broader goals, fueled by revenue from the Starlink expansion, potential IPO, and AI-driven applications that could accelerate the development of lunar bases.

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Tesla pushes Full Self-Driving outright purchasing option back in one market

Tesla announced last month that it would eliminate the ability to purchase the Full Self-Driving software outright, instead opting for a subscription-only program, which will require users to pay monthly.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has pushed the opportunity to purchase the Full Self-Driving suite outright in one market: Australia.

The date remains February 14 in North America, but Tesla has pushed the date back to March 31, 2026, in Australia.

Tesla announced last month that it would eliminate the ability to purchase the Full Self-Driving software outright, instead opting for a subscription-only program, which will require users to pay monthly.

If you have already purchased the suite outright, you will not be required to subscribe once again, but once the outright purchase option is gone, drivers will be required to pay the monthly fee.

The reason for the adjustment is likely due to the short period of time the Full Self-Driving suite has been available in the country. In North America, it has been available for years.

Tesla hits major milestone with Full Self-Driving subscriptions

However, Tesla just launched it just last year in Australia.

Full Self-Driving is currently available in seven countries: the United States, Canada, China, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea.

The company has worked extensively for the past few years to launch the suite in Europe. It has not made it quite yet, but Tesla hopes to get it launched by the end of this year.

In North America, Tesla is only giving customers one more day to buy the suite outright before they will be committed to the subscription-based option for good.

The price is expected to go up as the capabilities improve, but there are no indications as to when Tesla will be doing that, nor what type of offering it plans to roll out for owners.

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