The Tesla Model S Has Jumped the Shark - Now Slowest-Selling Used Car

Used Tesla Model S cars are gathering cobwebs on used car lots. According to a new study by iSeeCars.com, the Tesla Model S is the single slowest-selling used car in America today. According to the most recent data available, the Model S is languishing on used car lots for nearly three months before some crazy buyer stumbles into buying one. 

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The average days on the lot for used cars today is about 49 days. The Tesla Model S, by contrast, is sitting unloved in a corner of the lot for an average of 87 days. And that is average, meaning many Tesla Model S cars are sitting for much greater periods of time. The Model S is not the only electric vehicle dealers can’t move. The Ford Mustang Mach-E has an average days on the used car lot of 75. “Used car prices were initially driven up by a lack of new car inventory,” said iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer. “Now there are plenty of new cars on dealer lots, but consumers aren’t rushing out to buy them. The new car average time-to-sale is down by more than 25 percent, even as used cars are selling 6.1 percent faster. This shows buyers are continuing to seek value in the used car market – despite a wide range of new car options.”

Drive past any car dealerships and you are likely to find EVs sitting gathering dust today. “The good news for electric vehicle buyers is that EVs are both cheaper and harder to sell in 2023, putting pressure on automakers and dealers to move them in a market that appears to have lost interest,“ said Brauer. “Both new and used EVs are taking more than 50 days to sell on average, meaning it takes more than twice as long for dealers to find EV buyers compared to a year ago.”

By contrast to the slow-selling EVs on used car lots, used hybrids are among the fastest-selling used cars in America today. The Honda Insight has an average day on the lot of just 38 days, the Toyota Highlander Hybrid just 36 days. Heck, the hybrid Sienna minivan is selling on average in 39 days. Imagine, minivans being more popular than the Tesla Model S!

For more details on this topic please visit the iSeeCars study page. 

Image of Tesla Model S by John Goreham.

John Goreham is an experienced New England Motor Press Association member and expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. In addition to his eleven years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can follow John on Twitter, and connect with him at Linkedin.