Tesla Launches Limited 2-Year Lease Program If you want a Tesla Model S or Model X on a two-year lease, you'll have to put up a bigger down payment (and make up your mind by Sept. 12).

Have some extra cash burning a hole in your pocket? Worried about the state of the electric car market and what technological improvements you might miss out on if you buy a car right now? If you've been eyeing a Tesla Model S or Model X, but didn't want to plunk down a ton of cash to buy a car outright, Tesla lets potential purchasers lease the car instead. However, Tesla's typical lease was a three-year commitment that required a smaller down payment and monthly payments starting at just around $600 for the barebones Tesla Model S 60 kWh car.

If three years is too much time to be on the hook for your lease, however, Tesla is now offering potential purchasers a two-year agreement instead. The trade-off? You'll be plunking down a little more for your down payment as a result of the shorter lease period. You'll also have to make up your mind about a new Tesla rather quickly, as the two-year lease isn't a permanent addition (just yet).

"A 2-year lease option is one of our most popular requests. We listened and are launching a limited time test of a 2-year lease on Model S and Model X. Starting at only $593/month (details here), our new 2-year lease program was designed just for you to drive electric today, and is available on all Model S and X orders placed by September 12th," reads a statement from Tesla, as reported by InsideEVs.

According to Tesla's website, a two-year lease for Tesla's entry-level Model S (for 10,000 miles per year) will cost a normal person a down payment of $7,288 (and around $593 each month in payments). A three-year lease drops the down payment to $3,862. And it's worth noting that these figures are meant to be general: your exact situation will vary depending on the various incentives your state offers for electric car purchases. (If you're serious about a Tesla purchase, it's worth spending some time playing with Tesla's leasing calculator.)

As for why Tesla might be testing a two-year lease plan right now, InsideEV notes that the timing of the new leasing plan -- assuming it takes Tesla around three weeks to build and deliver a vehicle -- means that two-year leases should be able to count toward Tesla's delivery count before its third fiscal quarter closes.

That, or it's possible that Tesla might have some big September announcement lined up and it wants to get as much inventory out as it can before it talks about a newer feature (or car, in the case of the rumored P100D).