Tesla trade-ins up 250% as Americans turn on Elon Musk. Here's what this means for Tesla and the EV market

2 months ago 23

Jessica Wong

Tue, Apr 15, 2025, 4:30 AM 5 min read

With Tesla trade-ins precocious reaching an all-time precocious successful California, much and much Americans look to beryllium acceptable to determination connected from supporting Elon Musk’s brand.

According to information from Edmunds, drivers successful March swapped successful a grounds fig of Teslas — from the 2017 exemplary twelvemonth and connected — for either caller oregon utilized vehicles. In fact, Tesla trade-ins are reportedly up a staggering 250% successful March, twelvemonth implicit year.

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And arsenic CBS News notes, galore of these trade-ins were not done to facilitate purchasing a caller Tesla.

“Brand loyalty is becoming a bigger question people arsenic factors specified arsenic Elon Musk's expanding nationalist engagement successful government, Tesla depreciation concerns and its accrued saturation successful large metro areas permission immoderate longtime owners feeling disconnected from the brand,” Jessica Caldwell, caput of insights astatine Edmunds, shared with CBS MoneyWatch.

As the Edmunds information shows a emergence successful Tesla drivers ditching the brand, online browsing enactment suggests adjacent non-Tesla drivers are besides losing involvement successful Musk’s EVs. In February, involvement successful caller Teslas reportedly dipped to 1.8%, the lowest it’s been since October 2022. For context, involvement successful the marque peaked astatine 3.3% successful November 2024.

Dan Ives — a tech expert astatine Wedbush Securities who’s agelong been a Tesla bull — is besides sounding the alarm, informing that Musk’s governmental actions are casting a shadiness implicit the company’s stock. Calling it a "dark marque situation tornado," Ives believes lone Musk tin resoluteness the situation, suggesting that investors are hoping for much equilibrium betwixt Musk's relation arsenic CEO and his governmental endeavours with the Trump administration.

Some Tesla owners, specified arsenic 1 begetter of 2 who wished to stay anonymous, are parting with their Teslas adjacent if it means taking a fiscal hit. When asked however underwater helium is with his Tesla, this begetter said “around $10,000,” illustrating conscionable however overmuch immoderate Americans are consenting to suffer successful bid to region themselves from Musk’s brand.

“I conscionable became honestly disgusted by what helium stands for,” the begetter shared with CBS News. “I’m not really, like, a cancel civilization benignant of idiosyncratic … but honestly I consciousness benignant of soiled driving it around. I decidedly consciousness radical are much assertive towards maine connected the roadworthy now.”