This sounds like the automotive equivalent of the housing refi fiasco. If Telsa can't sell the used 3 year old car for $46,000, they are effectively "underwater" on the loan from the bank. Should get interesting as the clock runs out on the first batch of leased Teslas.
“This sounds like the automotive equivalent of the housing refi fiasco.”
No, that’s how all auto leases work - there’s nothing special about Tesla in this. The amount they need to pay back is called the residual value. The leasee almost always has the option to purchase the vehicle at that same price when the lease is up. Many do, if the current used car value is above the residual value and they like the car.
BMW got into a lot of trouble here in the states about 10 years ago when they vastly over-estimated the residual values of their cars. BMW took back a lot of cars that were worth quite a bit less than the amount still owed to the finance company. Residual value estimation has gotten a lot better, or maybe just more conservative, since then.