The Tesla Model 3 now qualifies for the full $7,500 EV incentive thanks to a new loophole in the tax incentive system.
While EV tax incentives have been a critical tool in helping countless buyers afford their first electric vehicles, with a recent constriction of qualifications, the options for buyers looking to take advantage of the full incentive amount have decreased significantly. However, according to a new report from Bloomberg, buyers have identified a new loophole allowing them to get the vehicles they want.
To give some important context, currently, only six vehicles qualify for the full $7,500 EV incentive in the United States. This includes some trims of Tesla Model 3 and Model Y, Chevy Bolt/Bolt EUV, Ford F-150 Lightning, Cadillac Lyriq, and Volkswagen ID.4. And while a larger number of vehicles qualify for at least half of the EV incentive, it is often not enough for many buyers.
The loophole identified by Bloomberg’s newest report is leasing. By choosing to lease a selected EV instead of purchasing it outright, a car buyer can still receive a full EV incentive for vehicles that would, under the new battery sourcing requirements, not qualify for the full amount or no incentive at all. Perhaps most notably, this includes vehicles like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6, but this same trick can be extended to the base model Tesla Model 3, which currently only qualifies for half of the $7,500 EV incentive.
On top of receiving full tax incentives, customers would also benefit from lower monthly payments and other benefits that manufacturers offer leaseholders, such as complimentary maintenance and coverage for consumables like tires.
It should be noted that this loophole has its downsides thanks to the structure of leasing a vehicle. Foremost, buyers do not own the vehicle while leasing it, and when the lease is complete, typically after three years, they will have to return it unless they choose to pay a pre-negotiated price for it. Further, while owning the vehicle, manufacturers typically limit mileage to roughly 15,000 per year, with the owner paying a penalty for exceeding that amount.
Other vehicles that customers could now receive a full incentive for, as long as they stay under segment-specific price caps, include the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Toyota BZ4X, Polestar 2, and lineup of Rivian trucks, though this list is not exhaustive.
Bloomberg notes that, due to this new loophole, Ford’s credit division now believes a record number of its EVs will be acquired through lease instead of a traditional purchase. Specifically, the historic American automaker expects 60% of EVs to be purchased through lease agreements, though if EV incentives continue to tighten, that number could grow dramatically.
The EV tax credit changes currently preventing most EVs from receiving incentives are “battery sourcing” requirements. These new rules require an automaker to source at least 40% of its battery materials from the United States or a “free-trade agreement partner.” If it wishes to acquire the full $7,500 incentive, it must also source 50% of battery components from North America as well. These requirements will tighten dramatically over the coming years, eventually reaching 100% sourced from the designated areas listed above.
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Tesla Cybercab includes this small but significant feature
The Cybercab is Tesla’s big plan to introduce fully autonomous ride-sharing in a seamless fashion. In fact, the Full Self-Driving suite was geared toward alleviating the need to manually drive vehicles.
Tesla Cybercab manufacturing is strikingly close, as the company is still aiming for an April start date. But small and significant features are still being identified for the first time as production units appear all over the country for testing and for regulatory events, like one yesterday in Washington, D.C.
The Cybercab is Tesla’s big plan to introduce fully autonomous ride-sharing in a seamless fashion. In fact, the Full Self-Driving suite was geared toward alleviating the need to manually drive vehicles.
This was for everyone, including the disabled, who are widely reliant on ride-sharing platforms, family members, and medical shuttles for transportation of any kind. Cybercab aims to change that, and Tesla evidently put a focus on those riders while developing the vehicle, evident in a small but significant feature revealed during its appearance in the Nation’s Capital.
Tesla Cybercab display highlights interior wizardry in the small two-seater
Tesla has implemented Braille within the Cybercab to make it easier for blind passengers to utilize the vehicle. On both the ‘Stop/Hazard Lights’ button and the Door Releases, Tesla has placed Braille so that blind passengers can navigate their way through the vehicle:
The hazard lights button will be used as an emergency stop. Smart pic.twitter.com/vkYBioqmKm
— Whole Mars Catalog (@wholemars) March 10, 2026
We have braille on the interior door releases as well
— Eric (@EricETesla) March 11, 2026
This is a great addition to the Cybercab, especially as Full Self-Driving has been partially pointed at as a solution for those with disabilities that would keep them from driving themselves from place to place.
It truly is a great addition and just another way that Tesla is showing they are making this massive product inclusive for everyone out there, including those who have not been able to drive due to not having vision.
The Cybercab is set to enter mass production sometime in April, and it will be responsible for launching Tesla’s massive plans for an autonomous ride-sharing program.
Elon Musk
Tesla and xAI team up on massive new project
It is the latest move by a Musk company to automate, streamline, and reduce the manual, monotonous, and tedious work currently performed by humans through AI and robotics development. Digital Optimus will be capable of processing and actioning the past five seconds of a real-time computer screen video and keyboard and mouse actions.
Elon Musk teased a massive new project, to be developed jointly by Tesla and xAI, called “Digital Optimus” or “Macrohard,” the first development under Tesla’s investment agreement with xAI.
Musk announced on X that Digital Optimus will “be capable of emulating the function of entire companies.”
Macrohard or Digital Optimus is a joint xAI-Tesla project, coming as part of Tesla’s investment agreement with xAI.
Grok is the master conductor/navigator with deep understanding of the world to direct digital Optimus, which is processing and actioning the past 5 secs of…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 11, 2026
It is the latest move by a Musk company to automate, streamline, and reduce the manual, monotonous, and tedious work currently performed by humans through AI and robotics development. Digital Optimus will be capable of processing and actioning the past five seconds of a real-time computer screen video and keyboard and mouse actions.
Essentially, it will be an AI version of a desk worker in many capacities, including accounting, HR tasks, and others.
Musk said:
“Grok is the master conductor/navigator with deep understanding of the world to direct digital Optimus, which is processing and actioning the past 5 secs of real-time computer screen video and keyboard/mouse actions. Grok is like a much more advanced and sophisticated version of turn-by-turn navigation software. You can think of it as Digital Optimus AI being System 1 (instinctive part of the mind) and Grok being System 2. (thinking part of the mind).”
Its key applications would be used for enterprise automation, simulating entire companies, high-volume repetitive tasks, and potentially, future hybrid use with the Optimus robot, which would handle physical tasks, while Digital Optimus would handle the clerical work.
The creation of a digital AI suite like Digital Optimus would help companies save time and money, as well as become more efficient in their operations through massive scalability. However, there will undoubtedly be concerns from people who are skeptical of a fully-integrated AI workhorse like this one.
From an energy consumption perspective and just a general concern for the human workforce, these types of AI projects are polarizing in nature.
However, Digital Optimus would be a great digital counterpart to Tesla’s physical Optimus robot, as it would be a hyper-efficient addition to any company that is looking for more production for less cost.
Musk maintains that there is no other company on Earth that will be able to do this.
Elon Musk
Tesla China posts strong February wholesale growth at Gigafactory Shanghai
The update was shared by Tesla observers on social media platform X, citing monthly China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) data.
Tesla China sold 58,599 vehicles wholesale in February, reflecting strong year-over-year growth. The figure includes both domestic deliveries in China and vehicles exported to international markets.
The update was shared by Tesla observers on social media platform X, citing monthly China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) data.
Tesla’s February wholesale result represents a 91% increase year over year, compared with 30,688 vehicles in February 2025. Month over month, the result was down 15.2% from January, when Tesla China recorded 69,129 wholesale units.
The February total reflects combined sales of the Model 3 and Model Y produced at Gigafactory Shanghai. The facility produces the two vehicles for both domestic sales and exports.
Gigafactory Shanghai continues to serve as Tesla’s primary vehicle export hub, supplying vehicles to markets across Asia and Europe. Data compiled by Tesla watchers shows that 18,485 vehicles were sold domestically in China in January 2026, while exports accounted for 50,644 units during the same period.
Tesla has also been extending financing programs in China as it pushes to strengthen domestic demand. The company recently extended its seven-year ultra-low-interest and five-year interest-free financing programs through March 31, marking the second extension of the promotion this year.
The financing initiative was first introduced on January 6 as a strategy aimed at offsetting higher ownership costs ahead of China’s planned 5% NEV purchase tax in 2026. The promotion was originally scheduled to expire at the end of January before being extended to February and then again through the end of the first quarter.
Tesla’s efforts come amid growing competition in China’s EV market. According to data compiled by CNEV Post, Tesla’s 2025 retail sales in China reached 625,698 vehicles, representing a 4.78% year-over-year decline. Part of that decline was linked to the Model Y changeover to its updated variant in early 2025, which temporarily reduced deliveries during the transition period.
Tesla Cybercab includes this small but significant feature
Tesla and xAI team up on massive new project
