People Are Selling Their Tesla Cars And The Numbers Aren't Pretty

While Tesla has been one of the most beloved and best-selling electric car brands in the last decade, all good things can't last forever. Due to the company CEO Elon Musk's controversial shift in political beliefs in recent years as well as his highly-criticized involvement in the Trump Administration, longstanding positive sentiment surrounding the popular electric vehicle brand is beginning to shift. Many Tesla owners frustrated with the recent actions of Musk have largely begun attempting to sell their vehicles in protest, and the numbers aren't pretty.

For starters, the company's stock price has crashed over 50% from its all-time high in December, and Elon Musk isn't hiding his feelings about this matter either. Now while most would assume these recent events would be stressful for Musk, he has instead claimed that he is largely unbothered by it all. As to whether this is actually true or not, one cannot say for sure. Regardless, while the growing boycotts of both Tesla and Musk may be widely justified, potential sellers of the once-highly-regarded electrical vehicles are far and wide finding themselves faced with a harsh reality: successfully selling their Teslas is not as lucrative as they thought. That's due to how badly Tesla is performing in light of recent events, as well as declining resale prices, market saturation, and brand perception of Tesla.

In a recent poll conducted by CNN, 53% of Americans expressed a negative view of Musk. Knowing this, it's no surprise that many Americans are opting to get rid of their Teslas altogether. In fact, even rental car companies like Hertz are participating in this purge, having recently put as many as 30,000 Teslas their fleet up for sale. Regardless, before Musk embarked on his crusade to cut purported wasteful government spending through DOGE, his father had a financial warning for him, claiming that by involving himself so deeply in politics, Musk's companies would likely suffer as a result. Clearly he was pretty on point in that assumption, but exactly how badly is Tesla fairing under Musk's new leadership role? 

Outside of the aforementioned 53% decline in stock valuation, actual sales numbers of the electric vehicle brand have been suffering significantly. The company began 2025 at a rough start, with year over year new registrations of Tesla vehicles in America down by 11% as of January. However, this only got worse in the following month, with sales of the CyberTruck model falling by 32.5% in February, and sales of the Model 3 falling by 17.5% during this same time frame as well. As if this wasn't bad enough for the company, it turns out sales numbers are far worse internationally. Year over year sales by February 2025 fell by 49% in China, 71% in Australia, and 76% in Germany.

If you are among the many that disagree with Elon Musk's political stance and recent actions at the helm of DOGE, selling your Tesla vehicle is certainly a noble act to do in protest. However, it is worth noting that if you do intend to do so, there are a few things you need to consider beforehand. For starters, used Teslas in 2025 are worth significantly less than in previous years, and have actually been on the decline for a while. But to what extent have they been losing value, and why has this been happening in the first place?

Since 2022, the value of used Teslas has gone from an average resale price of $70,000 to under $30,000 today, with pre-owned Teslas currently valued at around $10,000 less than other comparable used electric vehicles on average. The reason for this can largely be attributed to a mass influx of Teslas hitting the secondary market in light of the recent protests against Musk. Negative brand perception has only added fuel to the fire, as a large number of Americans simply don't want to own a vehicle by a brand that is associated with Musk. To put it simply, since there are so many pre-owned Tesla vehicles hitting the secondary market and nobody wants to buy them, a decline in their value has been the result. All this being said, now is not a good time to buy a car, or to sell one — especially if that car is a Tesla.