I’ll admit it. I’ve wasted an entire afternoon or two sitting around trying to figure out how to afford a Tesla. As a self-proclaimed car guy and tech nerd, it’s something that I have put a lot of thought into. I’m also an entrepreneur at heart, and thankfully, it didn’t take me long to come up with a plan to get a brand new Tesla of my own using nothing but income from side hustles.
The way that I was able to generate enough income to afford a Tesla was from two separate activities:
- Building a profitable portfolio of websites
- Buying (and holding) Tesla Stock
I haven’t yet purchased a Tesla (my 2012 Mustang GT keeps me satisfied for now) but it won’t be long until the day comes when I put a shiny new Model S in my garage. I have the money, and I’m ready to do it. It is not a matter of when – not if.
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How to afford a Tesla (it’s not as difficult as you think)
The following is a detailed breakdown of exactly how I did it. I’m not saying this is the only way to afford the Tesla you want, but it did work for me. If anything, I hope this gives you the inspiration and determination you need to do it yourself.
| Please note: some of the links in this article may be affiliate links. This means that I will get paid a commission if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of them. |
Side hustle #1: Build a website and monetize it with display ads and affiliate marketing
This is a lot easier than many people think. Even if you know nothing about building a website, there are products and services out there that make this very easy – even for beginners,. It’s hard to mess up when done right!. Anyway, here’s what you need to do in 4 simple steps:
1. Get web hosting
First, go over to WP Engine and sign up for the Startup Plan. WP Engine will take care of everything for you in terms of getting your website set up. You don’t have to worry about anything – just sign up, select your options, and you instantly have a fast and fully-functional website.
2. Do keyword research
Sign up for an SEMrush free trial to do keyword research on the topics you want to write about. Long story short, you want to make sure that you’re writing about things that people are actually searching for on Google. SEMrush can tell you exactly what those things are.
Note: SEMrush is expensive, but if you can get a lot of keyword research done within the free trial period, you won’t have to pay for a subscription.
Pro tip: make sure you write blog articles that are focused on helping people. Product reviews and informational content which helps people solve problems is what works best.
The way you will make money from doing proper keyword research is twofold:
- As your traffic grows, you can put ads on your website using AdSense, Ezoic, Mediavine, etc.
- Sign up for the Amazon affiliate program, and you can get paid for referring people to shop on Amazon. For example, in your product review articles, every time somebody clicks one of your Amazon links and makes a purchase, you’ll make a commission. As I said – it’s that easy.
3. Create content based on that keyword research
You can do this one or two ways:
- You can write all the content yourself. This takes a lot of time but is completely free.
- Or, you can use a content writing service such as Content Development Pros to create content for you. You won’t have to do anything (other than tell then what you want them to write about), and it’s a very cost-effective way of outsourcing your entire website.
4. Experiment, experiment, experiment!
You are going to have to experiment to find out what works and what doesn’t. As soon as you find a series of articles and/or topics that do well, pour gas on it and focus all your energy on creating more content just like that. Ignore everything else.
This is exactly how I’ve built up enough side hustle income to afford a Tesla (or pretty much any other car) that I want. Through hard work and persistence, that side hustle income turned into my main source of income within just a few years. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
I say again: this is not a get rich quick scheme! It’s going take you 1 to 2 years (at least) to start generating the kind of money that will put a Tesla in your garage, so be prepared for that.
However, once you start getting profitable, the income should be steady and predictable going forward – just as long as you keep nurturing your website and keeping the content fresh. Again, Content Development Pros can help you with this.
Side hustle #2: Buy Tesla stock
Full disclaimer here: I am a tesla shareholder, but I am not a financial advisor. What I’m about to say is my opinion only, and not a guaranteed way of earning enough money to afford a Tesla. That being said:
In my opinion, Tesla (TSLA) is the Microsoft stock of this generation. I have personally made over six-figures in gains from a $5000 initial investment so far, and there’s no sign of it slowing down.
Tesla has positioned itself to be the world leader in alternative fuel vehicles – as well as autonomous driving. They are easily 10 to 15 years ahead of every other auto maker on the planet in this regard, and their market share keeps growing.
Personally, I’m holding on to Tesla because of the fact that autonomous driving is the future (and they are so far ahead of anyone else). Uber is moving towards having their own fleet of self-driving vehicles, and guess who’s going to supply those vehicles? Tesla, that’s who.
Not only that, Tesla will be launching an autonomous self driving taxi network of their own, which will cover the entire globe. That is a lot of cars, a lot of exposure, and a huge source of income for Tesla over the next 10-15 years or so.
Of you want to know how to afford a Tesla via shares of Tesla stock, it’s easy as buying the dips
I’ve been investing (and trading) TSLA since 2013, and if there is one thing that I learned about it. it’s that it’s extremely volatile. It goes down a lot, but it also goes up a lot. And over the long term, it only goes up. And up. And up.
I remember when TSLA was stuck between $200 and $300 a share for years. At the time, it seemed as if Tesla was dead with no growth in sight.
However, I was making a lot of money buying in the low 200s and selling whenever it approached 300. This worked very well for me, and it eventually allowed me to build up enough capital to invest heavily into a long term position.
Even at its current stock price (which seems ridiculously high compared to what it was in the beginning), I still think it’s a good value. As a matter fact, I keep buying more whenever I have spare funds to invest.
Other creative ways to afford a Tesla
Knowing that not everyone is going to be interested in building a website or taking risks in the stock market, I thought it might be a good idea to list out a few alternative (and fun) ways to afford a Tesla:
1. Rent it out on Turo
Turo is an app which allows you to rent out your car and earn money from doing so. I personally use Turo to rent interesting cars to review for this blog and my YouTube channel. In my opinion, it’s a really neat (and convenient) concept.
If you’re OK with the idea of other people giving you money to use your car when you’re not using it, Turo is a fantastic way to make a little extra side income. Don’t worry. They are fully insured, and you will be fully protected if someone damages your car.
Personally, this isn’t something I would be comfortable doing with my own car. However, I would be OK purchasing a Tesla specifically for the purpose of renting it out on Turo.
This way, I wouldn’t be so emotionally attached to it. I would also have a really nice Tesla to drive around in when it’s not being rented out. It’s a win-win.
2. Buy second hand
The nice thing about Tesla becoming so mainstream now is that the secondhand market for these cars is becoming very attractive. The first-generation Model S is still an amazing car, and it’s every bit of a Tesla is a brand new one is today.
Another nice thing about buying a secondhand Tesla is the fact that you likely won’t lose very much money on it.
Yes, it’ll be a little more expensive to purchase, but these cars hold their value very well. You would lose a lot less money buying a used Tesla, driving it for a year or two, and then selling it compared to nearly any other kind of car.
3. Buy it for your business, and write it off on your taxes
If you have a business of any kind, declare your Tesla as a company car. Of course you’ll want to consult a tax professional before you do this, but the tax savings alone from doing this can make it very much worth your while.
I’d love to do this for my own business, but the truth of the matter is that I work from home – and the government knows this. It would seem awfully sketchy for me to purchase a $100,000 car for my business and then write it off on my taxes.
Another creative way of writing off a Tesla on your taxes
What could work for me (and many others) is by getting into the automotive accessories space. I could then use the car as a show piece for those accessories, and then it would be a legit write-off. I’m not quite there yet, but maybe someday.
For the record, this is how guys like TJ Hunt, thestradman, and Cleetus McFarland make automotive purchases for their YouTube channels. It’s a true business expense for them, and they can legitimately write off those purchases. It’s a brilliant business model, and I’d love to be there one day myself.
Wrapping it all up
Just as how easy it is to figure out how to test drive a Tesla, figuring out creative ways to afford a Tesla isn’t all that difficult. Even if you don’t take any of the advice that I’ve given you in this article, all I can say is this:
Identify the things you’re passionate about (or have a lot of knowledge about that others don’t), and turn it in into a side hustle. It can be a website, video series on YouTube, or whatever.
You will learn how to get money from your side hustles if you stick with it. If you tinker with it for a month or two and then give up because you think it’s too hard, you’ll never be driving around in the Tesla that you’ve got customized over on the Tesla website.
It took me several years of doing random side hustles before I figured out how to earn the kind of money that I needed to buy the things that I wanted. It takes time. And if you stick with it, you’ll get there too.
