The slowdown in electric vehicle sales continues to snowball, with plummeting resale values acting as another roadblock.
Over the past year, used EV values have dropped faster than their gas-powered counterparts, car search engine iSeeCars said. The average price for a used electric vehicle fell by up to 32% while the average for a gas model slipped by 3.6%.
Tumbling resale values aggravate buyers’ worries that an EV isn’t worth the price or the potential headaches. They already worry about EVs’ high prices, charging, lack of choice, and driving range. Now, they fear when it comes time to sell the vehicle, they’re not going to get much back.
“Consumers didn’t used to be worried about the resale value of an EV, but (Tesla chief executive Elon) Musk cutting prices made people feel like they owe $50,000 on their Tesla and now, it’s only worth $40,000,” said Pat Ryan, chief executive of free car-shopping app CoPilot. “When people see the value of an EV drop so dramatically, it creates a new problem.”
How did Elon Musk depress EV resale values?
Musk aggressively sliced more than 20% off new Tesla prices to try to maintain market share in an increasingly competitive EV market. Those price declines pressured the entire used EV market, but especially his own cars. Four of the most significant price drops in the overall used market between 2023 and 2024 was a Tesla, iSeeCars said.
“Elon’s desire to maintain new Tesla sales through price cuts had a very destructive…
