YouTuber Kyle Connor’s Model S Plaid has dropped in value by nearly $100,000 in two years The price of the Model S Plaid has also dropped by about $50,000, causing its value to plummet EVs generally outpace gas-powered cars, not to mention Teslas Losing value is not uncommon
This story has been around for a long time. If you buy a Tesla, you get a huge amount of depreciation for free in just a few years. As a Tesla owner, I too have succumbed to this fate. The same is true for many luxury brand owners, who face similarly significant losses in value if they vacate their premises. But this latest story about a six-figure depreciation on a Tesla Model S Plaid made me question everything I thought I knew about car values.
If you’re a visitor to InsideEVs, you’ll know our friend Kyle Conner. Otherwise, he is best known as the host of the YouTube channel Out Of Spec Reviews. Just two years ago, Kyle purchased a new 2022 Tesla Model S Plaid, Tesla’s fastest production car in history, for $140,940. And, as Yalopnik points out, even though you have the power to cleanse your internal organs with just the push of a pedal, you can’t overcome the cruel feeling of emptying your wallet with every turn of the wheel.
Kyle recently had Tesla appraise the trade-in value of his Model S Plaid, but things haven’t turned out as good as what Tesla CEO Elon Musk once called a “valuable asset.” The Model S Plaid, which has been driven just 37,191 miles over the past two years, has dropped from a $140,940 valuation by Tesla to just $46,600. That’s a loss of $94,340, or 67% of its original value, or a staggering $2.54 per mile. ah.
I’d like to point out here that Tesla is notorious for offering terrible trade-in prices. We also check Kyle’s VIN against other common trade-in values. Edmunds estimates the car’s value in good condition at $55,527, while Consumer Reports estimates it at $59,180. KBB was unable to provide a quote at the time of writing. While neither of those numbers hurts much more than your Tesla’s trade-in value, it’s still very painful to see your vehicle lose more than half its value in a short two-year period.
So what happened here to cause such a dramatic drop in value?
First, the Model S Plaid is now cheaper. There are quite a few. Buy these puppies now for $89,990. That’s about $50,000 cheaper than just two years ago. That’s almost enough money to buy a comparable Model 3 Performance. Tesla has been relentless in its EV cost-cutting war to maintain market share, yet it has managed to remain profitable and continue to lower its cost per vehicle at the same time.
EVs also depreciate disproportionately compared to gasoline-powered cars. Tesla’s price decline is particularly noteworthy, with some companies predicting a 25% drop in value compared to the previous year. We’re not just talking about luxury badges like the Model S or Model X. The Model 3 and Model Y also suffer from Tesla’s debilitating devaluation disease. reason? An executive analyst at iSeeCars told InsideEVs that one of the biggest factors why the used Tesla market is in as bad a shape as Kyle’s Model S Plaid is none other than Elon Musk himself.
The CEO reportedly ordered new vehicle prices to fall in response to the company’s failure to update its lineup while competitors brought new cars to market. This has caused the prices of all Teslas on the used market to drop virtually overnight, but the point is to keep customers happy (or especially interested in buying another car whose value will drop sharply). Well, it didn’t have any surprising effects at all. All this with the introduction of a $7,500 tax. I’m sure that’s not the case with Kyle because of the Model S plaid price tag, but you’ve got a recipe for depreciation.
The important thing here is that if you want to avoid depreciation, you shouldn’t buy a car. The original owner of a new car typically spends most of its depreciation in the first few years of ownership (the first year is usually the worst). This is why buying a used car can be such an attractive product, especially when you factor in the Used EV Tax Credit, which further reduces the cost of a used electric vehicle.
That being said, while Kyle’s lessons are expensive, I’m glad I didn’t have to learn them (at least as harshly). Also, people in particular aren’t necessarily lining up to buy a Cybertruck, waiting for the inevitable price drop to occur before considering shelling out big bucks for a stainless steel doorstop. As such, this could serve as a deterrent for the brand against Tesla for years to come. . But if money isn’t your goal, go crazy.