A man who spent $140k on a Tesla Model S a few years ago was completely stunned to discover how much the vehicle is worth today.
Kyle Conner, who bought the electric vehicle from Tesla just two years ago, shared his frustration on social media after discovering that his car is now worth only $46k.
While it’s true that new cars tend to depreciate significantly over the years, especially considering mileage and natural wear and tear, this still represents a depreciation of almost $100k.
Stuart Masson, editor at The Car Expert, told LADbible that basically any car will lose “up to 35 percent of its value” in the first year because when you buy a car, you’re not just paying for the car itself.
According to Masson, you’re also paying the dealerships and all other service costs involved in delivering the car, so a large portion of the value is lost as soon as you drive the car off the lot.
In the case of Teslas specifically, he explained that they lost more value than some other types of cars because they became “victims of their own success” in the electric vehicle market, as they were “by far the best-selling models.”
However, in a classic case of “Supply vs Demand,” selling many of them means there are far more to be resold, which reduces the value of each individual car, as used car buyers have more options to compare prices.
On the other hand, Tesla also faces a bigger challenge from other car manufacturers who have managed to put their own models on the market, such as the Chinese company BYD, one of Tesla’s main competitors in the electric vehicle market today.
According to Masson, Tesla was very successful a few years ago while other automakers were still trying to implement electric cars in their portfolios. Now, Tesla has completely lost its dominance, as virtually every manufacturer has its own 100% electric models.
And because of this, electric vehicle prices are falling in general, as manufacturers refine their processes and cars become cheaper to produce. All of this explains the significant drop in Kyle’s Tesla’s market value. Still, it’s a heartbreak.
Photo and video: Unsplash / X @itskyleconner. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
depreciation pic.twitter.com/3wZ0I9usYK
— Kyle Conner (@itskyleconner) October 27, 2024
