Tesla Informed Me They Are Not Taking Cybertruck Trade-Ins Even If to Upgrade My Cybertruck AWD to a Cyberbeast – It’s Almost Like They Don’t Trust Their Own Brand

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A Tesla Cybertruck All-Wheel-Drive owner who wanted to trade in his vehicle to upgrade to the Cybertruck Cyberbeast was surprised to find out Tesla has a company policy stating that they will not accept a Cybertruck as a trade-in vehicle.

Itamar Cohen is a Cybertruck fan and currently owns the dual motor all-wheel drive Cybertruck variant. Given his admiration of the truck, Itamar decided to upgrade from the Cybertruck AWD to the tri-motor performance Cyberbeast.

When the day came to pick up his Cyberbeast, Itamar went to Tesla to trade in his Cybertruck AWD, pay extra, and upgrade to the Cyberbeast.

However, to his dismay, when Itamar talked to a Tesla sales representative, he was told that the EV maker would not be accepting his Cybertruck AWD trade-in offer.

The sales rep informed Itamar that the issue was not with his Cybertruck but that, as a policy, they had been instructed from high up not to take any Cybertruck as a trade-in.

This shocked Itamar, who decided to post about his predicament on the Tesla Cybertruck group on Facebook.

What’s even more surprising is that if you are looking to buy a Tesla vehicle, the EV maker will allow you to trade in almost any other vehicle, including an internal combustion vehicle.

If the traded-in vehicle is a Tesla, the EV maker sells it as a certified pre-owned car on its website. On the other hand, if the trade-in is for any other vehicle, including an internal combustion vehicle, the EV maker sells it at an auction.

However, in this case, Tesla has instituted a company-wide policy of not taking any Cybertrucks back as a trade-in for some inexplicable reason.

Another baffling point is that Tesla requires all new Foundation Series Cybertruck owners to sign an agreement stating they are not permitted to sell their Cybertruck during their first year of ownership.

Any Cybertruck owner who wants to get rid of his/her truck by contract must return it to Tesla and give the company the first chance of refusal.

However, the thought process behind this contract is hard to fathom if all trade-in offers are automatically rejected as a matter of company policy.

Tesla even discovered that one Cybertruck owner had sold his truck on the secondary market and blacklisted the individual from buying any Tesla products in the future.

Frustrated by Tesla’s decision, Itamar says, “It’s almost like the EV maker doesn’t trust its own brand.”

Several people in the comments section proposed their theory for Tesla’s baffling no Cybertruck trade-in policy. The most cited reason was that the EV maker already has trouble selling new Cybertrucks and does not want to add to its backlog.

These assertions were supported by the fact that Tesla recently stopped requiring reservations to purchase a Cybertruck. Currently, if you are looking to buy a Cybertruck, you can head to Tesla’s website and order it like any other vehicle.

The second most prominent theory for Tesla's no-Cybertruck trade-in policy is that the EV maker doesn’t want the public to find out how much it values used Cybertrucks.

In the past few weeks, the Cybertruck second-hand market has experienced massive depreciation. The trucks, which sold above $200,000 just a few months ago, are now trading in the $90,000 range.

Proponents of this theory suggest that if Tesla revealed Cybertruck trade-in values, which will certainly be low, it would further decimate Cybertruck's residual value, hurting Tesla’s ability to sell new Cybertrucks at high prices.

Overall, it’s difficult to say exactly why Tesla refuses to accept a Cybertruck as a trade-in vehicle, but I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Share your ideas by clicking the red “Add new comment” button below.

This is all the information we have currently; however, we’ll be sure to keep you posted when we learn more about Tesla’s reasoning. Until then, visit our site, torquenews.com/Tesla, regularly for the latest updates.

Image: Courtesy of Tesla, inc.

For more information, check out: Tesla Delays Cybertruck Range Extender Production, Confirms Several Details

Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and the evolution of the EV space daily for several years. He covers everything about Tesla, from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.

Submitted by Ray X (not verified) on August 14, 2024 - 9:29AM

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This is simple. Elon Musk Is destroying the Tesla brand by going full-blown MAGA. Tesla's primary consumer has always been environmentally conscious Democrats. I've spoken to three Tesla owners who now say they would never buy a Tesla again because of his in your face support of Donald Trump. Musk is destroying the brand and destroying this residual values. That's why Tessa won't buy back a Cybertruck.

Submitted by Devin Serpa (not verified) on August 14, 2024 - 1:23PM

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The Cybertruck isn't even a year old. A manufacturer selling a less than year old new model as used would be a hard sell. Unless you're willing to trade in for a huge loss. If that's the case why not sell it private party for more than you bought it?

In Washington State, and perhaps others, the value of a trade-in is deducted from the purchase price when calculating the sales tax amount. If you buy a new vehicle for $100,000, you owe 9% sales tax on $100,000. In contrast, if you trade in a vehicle for $80,000, you owe 9% sales tax on just $20,000. It can make a huge difference on how much tax you pay.

Because that ship sailed about a week after deliveries occurred 😂. Now no one wants one because they are aware of how bad they are.. If the manufacturer won't even buy it back proves the point even more, just another throw away technology that is built on hype.. Elon is just a fraud, accept it..

Submitted by Tom Durkin (not verified) on August 14, 2024 - 4:05PM

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I am with Tesla on this one. What dealer wants to get stuck with a crappy trade in they would not be able to sell ?

Submitted by mcnaba (not verified) on August 15, 2024 - 1:00PM

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You could say Elon is a great salesman, but he just keeps selling to the same 100 fools over and over

Submitted by Dirk Rock (not verified) on August 15, 2024 - 1:18PM

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Honestly, I don't feel bad for anyone who can afford one of these and it ultimately stuck with it. Oh, boo-hoo!

Submitted by J (not verified) on August 20, 2024 - 11:11PM

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Elon sold his "minds eye" vision of an apocalytic vehicle to fanboys, and to anyone who might want one, whether because they actually liked the lines, or because they believed in "boat mode". He doesn't want it back. Because it's a losing proposition. Most people who liked it, bought one. Done deal ($$ grabbed), for Tesla. I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see another year of "cybertruck". Surely even Elon can see the competition at Rivian. That is actually a truck. Very different, non-traditional truck, but actually a truck. Working people want vehicles to actually do things. Doing more things... hauling more things well, at lower cost, is the ultimate winner for a truck. And the "Cyber-truck", is the opposite, of that.