Elon Musk once argued in 2019 that Teslas were an “appreciating asset.” Today, with the brand’s stock and used car values in absolute freefall, some owners are offloading their cars as quickly as possible to get out before the brand hits rock bottom.
Welcome back to Critical Materials, your daily roundup for all things electric and tech in the automotive space.
Today, I’m trying not to watch the value of my Tesla depreciate in real-time, Audi looks at the future, and disgraced former Nissan executive Carlos Ghosn says his “friend” Elon Musk could fix the Japanese automaker—kind of. Let’s jump in.
30%: Tesla Values Are Tanking Three Times Faster Than Any Other Brand
Photo by: CarGurus
Remember last week when we warned you that used Tesla values were plummeting? Well, the bloodbath isn’t over yet, and owners looking to separate themselves from Tesla—whether it be the toxic image of its CEO or the value of their cars sinking like the Titanic—are offloading their cars at a rather alarming rate.
A new look at the value of used Teslas by buying website CarGurus (and cited by Electrek) shows that the whole lineup is currently undergoing massive depreciation. And when we say massive, we’re not just talking about a few extra tenths of a percent.
Used Teslas are depreciating at three times the rate of other automakers. The data shows that used Teslas have fallen an average of -7.26% year-over-year, which is significantly greater depreciation than the average in CarGurus‘ used vehicle index.
Photo by: CarGurus
At the center of the freefall is the Tesla Cybertruck, which has fallen a massive -58% year-over-year. Admittedly, a good bit of this value drop-off is due to the truck’s demand falling off a cliff in recent months, coupled with 2024’s significant reseller market temporarily driving up prices. But it’s not just the Cybertruck. The 3, Y, S and X all have significant drops since last year, ranging from -6.3% to -13.6%. The 90-day trend shows a similar downward drift.
So why the huge loss in value? Could it be an influx of used Teslas hitting the market? Or maybe folks just want something new since there is more competition in the EV space than ever. Alternatively, perhaps the Elon Musk fatigue is real and people aren’t just ditching cars to be rid of the brand, but they are avoiding buying used Teslas to avoid the brand’s baggage.
A quick trip over to Reddit shows just how happy previous Tesla owners are to have unloaded their cars. Whether it be for a Rivian, Chevy Equinox EV, Kia EV6 GT, or a plethora of other examples—owners are enthralled to be out of Tesla’s orbit. Nearly every post mentions Tesla’s CEO as at least one of the reasons for jumping ship, and some owners even traded in multiple vehicles to ensure they had a Tesla-free (but still EV-centric) stable.
While Reddit can certainly be an echo chamber, it shows that real people are going out of their way to trade their cars for anything but a Tesla. That means demand for non-Tesla EVs is likely going up—something we’ve seen already in the new car market over the last year, which is to be expected given that the new EV segment now has more competition. It also helps to support Electrek’s findings by showing that a steady stream of used Teslas (exchanged for non-Tesla EVs) could be helping to push the value of used Teslas further downward.
For current Tesla owners, the falling prices should act like a warning sign. If plummeting resale value wasn’t a problem before, it’s certainly starting to feel like one now. Tesla’s strong resale prices were once a strong selling point for the brand. Hell, Musk once bragged that Tesla’s cars would become an “appreciating asset.” Instead, the brand continues to devalue—partly because that’s just what cars do, but also because the brand’s CEO is seemingly sapping away the cool factor that its cars once had.
Ready for some good news? If politics aren’t your thing and you really don’t care what Musk is up to, then it’s your time to shine. With used Teslas being cheaper than ever, it means getting into one is pretty much a steal right now.
Seriously, the price of a used Tesla is almost as low as the average price of all used cars listed on CarGurus—$29,552 for Tesla versus $27,014 for all brands. That means parking a new EV in your driveway is now extremely affordable so as long as you’re comfortable with it wearing a Tesla badge.
60%: Audi Weighs Cuts, ‘Entry-Level’ Electric Model
Photo by: Audi
The Volkswagen Group is going through a time right now. Sales are plummeting in China and hitting a wall in Europe, the costs of electrification and new technology are high, and it’s never really been a big player in North America. Arguably no VW Group brand bears the brunt of this worse than Audi, which actually had to close a factory last year—something the conglomerate avoids like the plague.
Now, the cuts are coming, per Reuters. Audi’s management and labor groups in Europe have agreed to cut 7,500 jobs in Germany by 2029, mostly on the admin side but also in development.
But there’s some good news here too, including for Audi fans who want to go electric and don’t want to pay the premium for a Q6 or A6 E-Tron:
The premium carmaker plans to make a new entry-level electric model at its Ingolstadt plant, and is considering a further model in its second German site of Neckarsulm, it said, a soothing sign for German labor representatives nervous about carmakers opting to produce EVs in cheaper countries.
With any luck, that should be better than the Q4 E-Tron.
90%: Carlos Ghosn Says His ‘Friend’ Elon Musk Can Fix Nissan
Former Nissan-Renault megaboss Carlos Ghosn is not a fan of what’s happened to Nissan since he left—though “left” might be putting the actual events of his departure rather lightly. The CEO-turned-international-fugitive has once again blasted Nissan’s leadership, saying that the company’s lack of vision and judgment has undone all of the hard work that Ghosn put into Nissan during his decade-and-a-half stint as CEO.
Never fear, because Ghosn has a solution for Nissan’s death spiral. And, no, it’s not to replace the CEO (again)—Nissan has already done that. According to Ghosn’s recent interview with the Shukan Post (as reported by Japan Today), the one person who can fix Nissan is none other than Ghosn’s self-declared “friend,” and fellow CEO, Elon Musk.
From that story:
What would he do? He mentions a name that resonates way beyond its three syllables: “My friend Elon Musk.”
Musk’s astonishing career is well known – what entrepreneur’s better? Donald Trump’s, maybe. Musk is the world’s richest man, Trump the most powerful; Trump president of the United States, Musk his cost-cutter- and firer-in-chief. Whether Ghosn as Nissan’s Musk would be good for the company in the long run or not, this much at least is certain: there must be many Nissan employees breathing a sigh of relief that he is where he is and not where he might be otherwise.
Ghosn has long expressed being a fan of Musk’s leadership. However, both share a quasi-metaphysical link by being driving forces behind the early EV movement—Ghosn with the Nissan Leaf and Musk with, well, Tesla. In fact, Musk has spent the better part of a decade dunking on legacy automakers often mocking slow decision-making and outdated strategies. And, let’s be honest, that’s exactly Nissan’s problem today.
The slow-moving bureaucracy of Nissan is the exact opposite of Tesla’s move-fast-and-break-things Silicon Valley approach, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however, Nissan could certainly pick up the pace. Its lineup is aging, its value proposition is no longer appealing, and its once-visionary approach to electrification is…well, it’s pretty much just the Ariya right now.
The brand needs direction to steer the ship out of the storm. To be fair, that’s what appointing Ivan Espinosa, a self-proclaimed “car guy”, is supposed to accomplish. Perhaps Espinosa is a good bridge between the kind of chaos that Musk lives in and Nissan’s current death spiral. And if that’s the case, then it’s sure to be welcomed by the brand’s stakeholders.
100%: What Are Tesla Owners Supposed To Do?
Photo by: Andrei Nedelea
2025 Tesla Model 3 Performance (Euro-Spec)
There’s no two ways about it: the company’s image is in rough shape right now. But not everyone can just turn around and sell a car they’re still paying off, or would lose huge amounts of money on. Plus, Musk’s antics aside, plenty of Tesla owners likely still really enjoy their EVs and don’t want to part with them just yet.
Are you in this situation yourself? Do you know anyone who is? Moreover, what’s your advice in this situation? Sound off in the comments.
