A 19,000-mile Tesla Model S Plaid is worth just $61,100 to the automaker after one year of use. The owner intended to trade it in for a brand-new Model X but was quickly disheartened by the brand's offer and gave up. But it got even worse.
Buying one of the world's fastest electric vehicles is a privilege. The tri-motor Model S Plaid puts out 1,020 hp and 1,050 lb-ft of torque. For a family sedan, those are bonkers numbers.
But besides being absurdly fast, the car is also rather pretty. It has a timeless design with a body boasting delicate lines and intricately sculpted surfaces.
Someone bought a Tesla Model S Plaid at the height of the temporary new car bubble. It happened around the time when we were warning our readers about the EV maker's strategy. The marque was dealing with supply chain troubles, parts shortages, and production woes. To avoid an immense backlog, it simply decided to raise prices so demand could cool off.
But as people stopped ordering so many Tesla vehicles, the brand had to convince prospective customers to consider its products once more. That's why we have seen an influx of offers, discounts, perks, and other incentives in late 2022.
This person claims they have paid $119,000 for their Model S Plaid with FSD Beta enabled. After driving the car a little over 19,000 miles, they decided to explore buying the all-electric Tesla SUV with falcon wing doors.
They decided to trade in the Model S Plaid to lessen the damage such an acquisition would incur on one's finances. Sadly, the estimate provided by Tesla was unexpectedly low – $61,100.
Figuring out how much FSD Beta was worth in this calculation is impossible because Tesla now allows new vehicle buyers to transfer the advanced driver-assistance software at no cost and for a limited time. Thus, it's not taken into account in this first estimate.
But things started to look even bleaker because the figure shown on this person's screen wasn't final.
Photo: MissJilianne on Twitter
Numerous recent reports from prospective Tesla customers say that they have received final trade-in offers that were much less than what was shown online. Some were shown ranges of $36,000 to $39,000, and the actual offer for their trade-in was $30,400. Others had to consider a difference of over $22,000 if they wanted a new Tesla and to get rid of their older ride simultaneously!
But this drop in value isn't restricted to only trade-ins. Someone else, for example, wanted a Model 3 Performance and decided to buy it from Tesla's inventory. The first price shown was $49,510. After a couple of hours, the cost dropped to $48,980. It lost $600 in around 120 minutes without anyone doing anything to it!
The value of a Tesla keeps fluctuating because of numerous factors. The most important ones, however, are based on the automaker's short- and medium-term plans.
A Model 3 with Hardware 3 will be worth slightly less than one with Hardware 4. The last current-gen Model 3s will lose a good chunk of their secondary market value once the successor – Project Highland – is officially introduced in the brand's most important markets boasting the latest hardware and software. A high-performance Model S might end up with a more conservative price tag at a trade-in because it's capable of a lot more, which, in turn, may translate into accelerated wear.
But the Model S Plaid owner decided to test other platforms for an offer and approached one of America's largest used car dealers. Their response was even worse - $0. They submitted the vehicle for a manual review and are waiting for a new figure that hopefully won't be nothing.
Ultimately, this person decided to stick with their tri-motor sedan for now. They are exploring the possibility of a private sale through online platforms like Twitter. Should you be interested, the asking price is $93,000 - $31,900 more than Tesla's revocable estimate and $26,000 less than what they paid for it last year. The EV has a range of 348 miles, an accident-free history, the yoke, FSD Beta, and can reach 60 mph from a standstill in under two seconds.
Cars are once again depreciating assets.
I was seriously considering trading my 2022 Model S Plaid in for a 2023 Model X.
One year ago this month I bought my S Plaid and paid $119k.
There’s no fricken way I’m taking a $57k loss. I don’t think I’ve ever owned a car that took that big of a loss in value so… pic.twitter.com/KbifABNnVX
Car shows on TV and his father's Fiat Tempra may have been Florin's early influences, but nowadays he favors different things, like the power of an F-150 Raptor. He'll never be able to ignore the shape of a Ferrari though, especially a yellow one. Full profile
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