Tesla is now offering heavily discounted 0.99% financing on Model Y for a limited time in an attempt to boost orders.

For the past year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has mostly blamed the company’s demand issues on high interest rates.

Most people buy new vehicles with loans and the 5 to 7% interest rates are currently adding thousands of dollars to the cost of any new vehicle.

Last month, Tesla brought 0% loans to China in an attempt to boost sales in the critical auto market.

Now, Tesla is doing something similar in the US with the announcement of a new 0.99% APR financing product for Model Y until May 31:

Here are the terms on Tesla’s website with a $4,250 down payment and 72 month-loan:

For the new Model Y Long Range RWD, it comes down to monthly payments of $603 before incentives.

If you are eligible for the Federal Tax Credit (single income $150,000 or under, or $300,000 for joint-fillers), your monthly payment will be just $499. That’s all before gas savings if you are coming from a gas car.

Electrek’s Take

People have been arguing that Tesla should cover the difference in interest rates in financing rather than slash prices, and it looks like the company is finally resorting to that.

A 0.99% APR loan is near free cash. It’s attractive to many. Between $500 and $600 a month for the best-selling vehicle in the world, which also happens to be electric.

Not a bad deal. I think that might enable Tesla to come up with more end-of-quarter incentives this quarter.

Flames and black smoke chugged from the windows of a two-storey apartment block in a frontline Ukrainian town.

Residents said a Russian missile or bomb had punched a large crater into the soil in front of the building, devastating their homes.

The attack had only happened a short while ago and the scene on Saturday morning was still chaotic, with people worried the fire would spread to a row of apartments next door.

“There are pensioners inside,” said one man. “If the fire gets in, they will be burnt.”

Firefighters had yet to arrive, but the town of Vovchansk, barely three miles from the Russian border, has become a warzone since Russia launched a surprise new offensive in the northeast of Ukraine in the early hours of Friday morning.

Shocked and crying, a lady, who gave her name as Valentyna, swept up broken glass on the ground.

“Everyone is suffering,” the 59-year-old said.

Despite the danger, she said she did not want to leave.

Local community workers did their best to help respond to the explosion, entering the burning building to retrieve belongings, while warning others to stand back in case of any secondary blasts.

A woman whose apartment was destroyed in the strike had a lucky escape.

Tatiana, 71, said she had been covered in glass. Blood was seeping from a deep-looking cut towards the bottom of her left leg.

Asked how she felt, she said: “What can I feel in this situation? I don’t know whether firefighters will come or not.”

Gesturing towards the hole, she said: “Just look at how huge this pit is. It should be some serious shell or rocket. It is not just some mortar just look at it.”

A police officer, who accompanied Sky News into Vovchansk, asked the women whether she would like to be evacuated, but she said she did not want to go as she had to deal with the aftermath of the attack on her home.

Some 3,000 residents had been living in the town, according to the mayor, though hundreds have already fled or been evacuated in the past day.

We drove into the town centre to witness the scale of the destruction.

Barely a building was undamaged – some lying completely in ruins.

Vovchansk had been occupied by Russian forces during the first months of the full-scale invasion in 2022.

A Ukrainian counteroffensive pushed them out. But the town has never been left in peace, with Russian forces across the border launching artillery strikes ever since.

But they had recently become more intense, in particular over the past week before erupting into the unprecedented bombardments of the past day and a half.

Vladyslav Seminahin, a senior lieutenant with the Vovchansk District Police, told Sky News he felt outraged by the devastation.

“I feel… a sense of injustice that innocent people are suffering, losing their homes, health, and sometimes even their lives,” he said, speaking as he drove with us through the town.

“We help them in any way we can.”

As for whether he thought evacuated residents would be able to return, he said: “I think they will, of course. We need to wait a bit. I believe everyone will come back. Ukraine will remain within its borders. We hope for that. And we’re doing everything for it.”

PRAGUE — Connor Bedard scored twice as Canada opened its title defense at the ice hockey world championship with a 4-2 win over newcomer Britain on Saturday.

Bedard, coming off a great rookie season with the Chicago Blackhawks, scored twice in a four-minute span of the second period to put the Group A game in Prague out of reach.

Canada had to rally from a goal down despite outshooting Britain 12-3 in the opening period and 34-15 overall.

Liam Kirk put Britain 1-0 ahead on a power play eight minutes into the game, but the lead lasted just 30 seconds as Michael Bunting scored from the point to tie it at 1.

Brandon Hagel put the defending champions ahead 5:45 into the second period with a shot into the roof of the net.

Then it was Bedard’s turn.

Bedard, 18, beat goaltender Jackson Whistle (30 saves) midway through the frame for his first goal at the senior worlds. He made it 4-1 after Nick Paul fed him with a perfect pass.

Ben O’Connor scored in the third period for Britain.

In Group B in the city of Ostrava, Kazakhstan defeated France 3-1 in their opening game.

The United States hopes to recover from an opening 5-2 loss to Sweden in a Group B game against Germany later Saturday.

Poland, another newcomer in the top division, faces last year’s bronze medalist Latvia in the same group, while Austria plays Denmark and the Czech Republic meets Norway in Group A.