Used Tesla Values Dropping at 3X Industry Average

The latest data show that used Tesla vehicles are dropping in value dramatically faster than the overall average.

Tesla’s used car price drop is accelerating if we are reading the tea leaves correctly. Our friends at iSeeCars have just dropped the latest data on the steep declines in used Tesla vehicle values. The study concluded that the average used Tesla price fell more than three times compared to the average used car price drop in January. And it’s just not in comparison to the pack that Tesla is dropping. The study showed Tesla values dropping 4.8 percent versus a 1.8 percent decline across all EVs.

Respected iSeeCars industry analyst, Karl Brauer, authored the study summary page. One conclusion he has drawn is that the reduction in the value of used Teslas “...accelerated when the company announced substantial price reductions for new Tesla models on January 13th, 2023.”

iSeeCars’ conclusion is easy to back up with data. iSeeCars’s researchers analyzed Tesla used car prices between January 3rd and January 11th, the day before the price cuts were announced. They then compared the values to Tesla prices between January 15th and January 31st, immediately after the announcement. iSeeCars calculated an overall 4.8 percent drop in Tesla values.

Unicorn Model X vehicles saw the lowest rate of decline. All of the other Tesla used Models (excluding the original Roadster, of course) had declines of about 5%. This chart helps to illustrate the declining values of Tesla vehicles.

Our Take
With inflation danger close to spiraling out of control, we are happy to see any information that points to lowering vehicle prices. When GM led the industry by dropping the prices of its Bolt vehicles, we wondered if Tesla might follow GM’s lead, and it proved true. Ford has also followed GM’s lead recently and adjusted some pricing.

Much of the up and down sine wave of pricing in the EV segment, and to a lesser degree the industry as a whole, is do to government(s) market manipulation. By picking winners and losers in the marketplace using income bumpers at the high and low end of the earning curve and also by creating tax law that incentivizes American union manufacturing as best it can within reason, the government is causing automakers to react with price changes. Tesla made no secret that one reason for its price drops was to include more of its vehicles in the latest subsidy program.

Unfortunately for Tesla owners, the value of their used vehicles has now suffered due to the social engineering and corporate and union welfare program recently created.

iSeeCars analyzes millions of used car prices to come to its conclusions. You can find out more by checking out the study’s summary page here.

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 ten 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 TikTok @ToknCars, and view his credentials at Linkedin

Used Tesla price change chart by iSeeCars. Image of used Model S by John Goreham.