Overall used car prices increased last month for the first time in two-and-a-half years — but not for every automaker. Tesla (TSLA) topped the list of used cars with the biggest yearly resale price drops as the company continues to see its value crater amid the public’s negative association with CEO Elon Musk.
According to data from used car listing website iSeeCars, the average price of a used Tesla fell more than 10% in March (to $31,421) compared with the same period last year. Chrysler (STLA) and Maserati trailed behind at 8.9% and 8.6%, respectively.
Tesla had four models in the top 20 used cars with the biggest year-over-year price drops.
The Tesla Model S lost more value than any other used car over the past year (17.2%). Meanwhile, the Model Y dropped 13.1% to take fifth on the list, the Model 3 saw a 10.9% difference to be eighth on the list, and the Model X rounded landed at 17th with a 7.3% yearly price decrease.
“In both the new and used car markets, Tesla prices have been dropping for over two years,” said Karl Brauer, an iSeeCars executive analyst. “Price cuts on new Teslas immediately impacted used Teslas, driving their prices down at a rapid rate.”
It’s been a rough few months for Tesla.
The automaker has seen its value collapse recently, partly attributed to Musk’s close ties to President Donald Trump and Musk’s role as the head of the cost-and-job-cutting Department of Government Efficiency. That connection — and other controversial comments from Musk — have made Tesla a target for people looking to protest governmental politics. Nonviolent, anti-Tesla protests have popped up across the globe, while vandalism against the company’s vehicles and facilities has increased.
In early April, Tesla reported its worst quarterly sales in years; its 336,000 delivered units were well below Wall Street’s already low expectations. Last week, data showed that the automaker’s share of California’s enormous EV market fell to 43.9% in the first quarter from 55.5% a year ago. And recently, Tesla quietly pulled options to buy its Model S and X EVs from its website in China.
Tesla’s biggest bull, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, wrote recently that the company was facing a “Code Red Situation” if Musk didn’t leave his position with DOGE. The Trump administration has said the CEO plans to leave the department by the end of May when Musk’s designation as a special government employee is set to expire.
The automaker is set to report earnings Tuesday after the bell.
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