[RahulNagaraj]

According to a report, the average price of a used Tesla has been declining consistently for the past 19 months.

As per data, prices of used Tesla cars have dropped by almost 50% in February 2024, compared to their prices 19 months back. A used Tesla car which retailed at around $67,000 in July 2022, now costs just over $33,000. Reports also state that while the overall used car prices have dropped by 1.91% over the past month, prices of used Teslas have decreased by 6.6% during the same period. Taking a year-on-year comparison, the average price of a used Tesla has reduced by a massive 29% over the last 12 months.



Getting into specifics, a used Tesla Model X witnessed the highest drop in prices with a 33.88% year-on-year decline and now retailing at $45,397. The Model S (32.8%), Model Y (28.4%) & Model 3 (25.4%) followed, respectively.

Also, as seen from the chart, prices for a used Tesla hovered around the $55,000 range at the start of 2019. Prices dropped slightly during the pandemic up until April 2021, with the average price falling to $46,000. Between April 2021 to July 2022, average prices of a used Tesla rose steeply before registering a decline for the next 19 months in a row.

Source: CarGurus

Link to Team-BHP news

[jjp@chn]

Tesla was able to create an aura for their brand as an aspirational one over the last few years, despite all the quality and reliability issues. There are numerous stories over the years about their lack of build quality, subpar fit and finish, premature failure due to defective parts. Moreover, if at all the vehicle required any repairs, owners had to wait for months to get a slot and the cost of repair was also exorbitantly high.

No wonder their used cars prices have started to drop significantly as there will be limited appetite for buyers in the used car market which primarily thrives on the trade-off between price vs reliability of the vehicle. The recent price cuts that were announced by Tesla for their new cars, as competition from other players in the EV market heats up along with drop in demand, might also have had a significant influence on the used car prices.

[Shreyans_Jain]

Tesla used car prices were a bubble waiting to burst. Even a blind person could see the numbers being thrown around were both unreasonable and unsustainable.

Ultimately, market forces have to prevail. If any car is deliberately engineered such that it can’t be repaired or fixed without going back to the company, it’s only a matter of time that people catch on to this scam.

For any car to sustain good resale values, it should be reliable, be easy to fix in case things go wrong, and should also have parts available easily and at fair prices. Teslas can still be considered somewhat reliable, but absolutely they fail on the other two counts.

[SKC-auto]

Is this just a clickbait article? I believe last 19 months saw considerable price reduction.

You may buy a car for $50K, but when the new car is sold at $40K after the IRA benefits, you have no choice but to sell that car for $30K.

[Mortis]

It's probably because the cars have become relatively common now and if I'm not mistaken the Supercharger benefits no longer transfer to the second owner and they have to resubscribe for it.

[avisidhu]

Lot of factors seem to be contributing here. In part they are also victims of their success. As an example, in British Columbia there's a healthy adoption of EVs. Lot of fence sitters have joined the bandwagon because of perceived low cost of ownership. So much so that each time you order an Uber, chances are it will be a Tesla. And this segment of buyers is far less forgiving than the early adaptors/Elon Fan boys. Tesla's reputation is being hammered due to horror stories around simple part replacement taking months.

Because of these issues, we have a glut of Teslas in the used car market, and this further perpetuates the problem because the low cost entices even more cost conscious buyers. This might come as a surprise to some, but basic calculations around monthly outflow (EMI + Fuel + Insurance + Maintenance) for a used, good condition Model 3 are trending close to or lower than a Civic!

On a related note: I don't know if this is a co-incidence but last 3 months I have noticed a massive surge in news articles critical of Tesla and EVs in general. Would be interesting to know if others have noticed the same, and what the reasons could be?

[SmartCat]

Nothing much to analyze here. Tesla used car prices is just following Tesla new car price trends.
https://skills.ai/tesla-car-prices-analysis/

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

Tesla used car prices is just following Tesla new car price trends.

That's definitely one major factor. Another could be the trigger of selling of Teslas by Hertz (and others/market following them).

hertz sell off 1/3rd of its ev fleet (Hertz to sell off 1/3rd of its EV fleet; Will move back to operating ICE-powered vehicles)

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

Nothing much to analyze here. Tesla used car prices is just following Tesla new car price trends.
https://skills.ai/tesla-car-prices-analysis/

Attachment 2573012

The missing and more relevant comparison here is the trend graph of used car prices of equivalent ICE cars. It is shocking, even in market like the US, for Tesla (or many manufacturers') used prices to fall to 50% in 18 months. if you look across the general used car market in the US, prices drop to 50% of the new car price after 4+ years.

This is the bomb (the aspect of dramatic depreciation of EVs), that has not yet hit in the average Indian buyer's calculations and decision process. Besides the fact that Teslas are harder to repair, the broader fact is that EVs are harder to repair in ways that makes economic sense. Even mildly flooded EVs in the recent Chennai floods had to be written off, where we have experienced that it is possible to repair similarly affected ICE cars for 10-20% of the cost of the vehicle.

I think once all these market forces fully play out, manufacturers would have to offer EVs at their true cost plus reasonable profit. Right now manufacturers like Tata are pocketing super-normal profits, using low capacity batteries whose prices have already tumbled globally (but not passing on the gains to customers), and sitting on 5% GST versus upto 48% GST for hybrids and ICE cars (and again not passing on the benefits). Market forces will soon start to play out in full force to force these manufacturers to drop prices. What we have seen in terms of price drops across MG and Tata in the last few days is just the tip of the iceberg. I will soon be selling my Tata Motors shares

[poloman]

I was watching some video reviews of 2024 Tesla Model 3. I was shocked by the insane cost cutting in this car in the name of minimalism. The gear shift is done by swiping the infotainment screen. No stalks for turn indicators, no buttons, no driver MID or HUD for critical data. All you have is a tablet.

The reviewer was trying to parallel park and had to swipe up and down multiple times on the touch screen to change gears. Also he crashed to the car in front since the swipe down was not registered as reverse.

Long time people realize such blatant efforts to cut costs in name of minimalism and modernism.

[vkivaturi]

This downward trend of used car prices was expected. I am neither a fan of Tesla nor do I follow US market prices. But I was working with few US based colleagues in 2021 and 2022. They were looking to buy new cars and always used to say the new car wait times in US were really long. This was directly linked to semiconductor chip shortage at that time.

Used car prices shot up so high that they were higher than new cars in some cases due to this short supply.

[anandhsub]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

The missing and more relevant comparison here is the trend graph of used car prices of equivalent ICE cars. It is shocking, even in market like the US, for Tesla (or many manufacturers') used prices to fall to 50% in 18 months. if you look across the general used car market in the US, prices drop to 50% of the new car price after 4+ years.

the graph is of prices of used cars. Not depreciation of a new car

[thebikemaster]

I always wondered how these models are surviving in the market after all these years and that too with upper class people. May be its their 5th or 10th car as an EV.

When I saw the Model S back in 2017, I was also curious to see and had a test drive of it. Exterior then and now is good, I admit that.
But when i entered inside the S and X model, it was like utter worst quality interior. Maybe I look too much into panel gaps and parts qualities- the roof linings and all seems like from 80s era of Tatas/Leylands. Panels not getting a proper fit, gaps, linings loose etc etc. Even it is a demo/test drive car, it should last some weeks at least right.

Only the instant torque of the battery made me forget all those things. Will I buy a new one?- may be then not now(many luxury EVs are there now), will i buy an used one?- never ever a Tesla.