Johan
Ex got M3 in the divorce, waiting for EU Model Y!
The down payment is 10%. For example, $8,000 on an $80,000 car. You still have to pay the $8,000 at time of purchase. You'll get the tax credit later (depending on tax year, etc). You can think of it as an offset, but can't apply that offset at time of purchase.
Or, am I missing something?
The 'inventive' thing I see here is structuring it as a loan, not a lease, but with a lease-style buy-back option. The problem with a lease is that you don't own the car, so don't get the tax credit.
I believe Elon said during the call that in some states you will get the credit "immediately" and other places not until you do your tax return for the past year.
I agree with other posters that this is to regarded as generally a positive thing and a good offer from Tesla for those who need this kind of financing, but that the "$500/month" is dubious marketing and should be toned down. Remeber Tesla wanted to be different than all the traditional car makers and dealers... well, don't go acting like a traditional dealer and make rosy statements that don't really hold up.
I hope they do something similar in the EU. In Norway traditional leasing will not be successfull since leasing as a service carries a VAT (25%) while the purchase of an fully electric car by an individual is excempt from VAT. With this model though, the customer IS the buyers, Tesla just facilitates the loan and makes a optional buy-back guarantee along the way. I'd consider this type of financing over upping the loan on my house for example if the terms of the buy-back option were attractive and if the mortage interest rate was not to much higher than what I can get with my home as security...