Some version of this lease vs buy argument has been on car forums as long as leasing vs buying has existed, and normally starts a big @#$%Q@$ argument when people post it.
I have seen several arguments for and against, and have both a purchased model 3 and a leased late model BMW in my garage at present time. Blanket statements like "leasing is dumb" or "buying these cars are for silly people" simply dont work for any car. It depends on the individual, their buying needs and habits etc.
One thing I would say is, on THIS car (tesla) there is less "angst" at owning it for a long time, they have been sending out over the air updates to their cars for several years now. While technology continues to advance, and its inevitable that at some point the current model 3s will fall behind whatever the new ones are, that does NOT preclude one from owning the car for a long time.
In general, since there are fewer moving parts than a typical gas car, the averages say that it "should" be cheaper to maintain over time. Couple that with the OTA upgrades, and a tesla is a great car to "own" in my opinion.... and I put my money where my mouth is, by buying one vs the last 15 years of BMW leases I have been doing.
In general, buying a car vs leasing one makes sense if you are the type to drive a car for a long time (6+ years). IF one is the type to want a new car every 3-4 years, you are going to have a payment either way you go, so you might as well pay that payment on a new car and lease one over 3 years or so. After two sets of 3 year lease cycles, you can normally tell yourself you would have bought a car.
You still only save money if you dont pay the car off in 5 years and then want to trade it in on something newer. Buy it and hold it for a good long while.. 6, 7, 8 or even longer years, and buying always comes out on top. For the person who buys a car then turns around and wantw a new one in 2-3 years, the math usually works out to be the same either way.
One thing leasing a car does is FORCE you to make a decision on what to do at the end of the lease, regardless of what is going on at the time in your life, or in the world. Plenty of people have leased cars coming up they need to turn in, and have had difficulty doing so. They also have to buy, extend, take some action. In exchange for that, they never drive a car outside of warranty, and give it back when they are done with it, and get the new version of whatever it is.
Same argument as lease vs buy at any car line... I just personally think that, with tesla model 3s, it makes sense to buy and hold one, as its likely higher mileage versions will not cost appreciably more to run than lower mileage versions.....unlike the average BMW leased. BMW gets a bad wrap, but their cars are fairly reliable actually.. they just cost a lot to fix when you need to fix them, especially if you take it to a dealer outside of warranty).
TL ; DR?
Blanket statements are bad in general, because very few things are one size fits all. In this case, for most people, I think the model 3 / Y makes a compelling argument to buy rather than lease, for a few different reasons previously stated.
