You only have to look at the classic car collection of some celebrities to see some motors soar in value over the years, but unfortunately for YouTuber Kyle Conner, he had a nasty surprise when he took his Tesla for an appraisal two years after he drove it off the forecourt.
For your standard runabout, cars aren't exactly an investment. Still, one Tesla owner was shocked to learn what his $140,000 purchase was worth after just two years.
Even though we all know that Teslas aren't exactly cheap, they're still a hot commodity with people loving everything from their electric credentials to their self-driving abilities. Sure, the Cybertruck might not be as bulletproof as it claims, but that's a story for another day.
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YouTuber Kyle Conner shared his Tesla experience on his Out of Spec Reviews channel, explaining how he's planned on selling the 2022 model for close to what he's paid for it. The original price was a hefty $140,490 (to be exact), so what was the going rate after two years of careful driving and only 37,000 miles on the clock?
TikTok user Chris Pearce (@thechristopherpearce) showed off Conner’s invoice and warned: "It's insane how fast Teslas depreciate." According to Pearce, Teslas are something of a dud when compared to gas cars on the second hand market.
Pearce told his viewers: "So with just 37,000 miles on the odometer, Tesla offered him a whopping $46,400.
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"That’s a loss of $94,000 or 67% of its original value."
This was directly through Tesla, so Pearce guessed that it could be something of a lowball offer, however, he went on to add: "But even sites like Edmunds, or Consumer Reports wouldn’t give him more than $59,000 at the absolute highest."
To look at depreciation in other vehicles, Pearce went on to compare a BMW that was the same price from the same year: "The BMW M5 CS came out in 2022, the same year, for around $140,000 — the exact same price. It’s not a perfect comparison, but they’re both saloon-performance sedans. If you go on any of those sites I mentioned, you can buy the M5 CS for $140,000 today. Meaning this car has depreciated maybe $10,000."
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When the news went viral, it seems Conner isn't happy with his newfound fame. Like the Tesla driver who continued to praise the manufacturer despite it's self-driving mode doing a hit-and-run on a deer, Conner is a firm fan of Tesla. Posting on X, he said there's a Tesla 'bias' in the media and the brand gets some unfair hate.
Teslas are definitely as divisive as controversial CEO Elon Musk, but if your car is losing 67% of its value after just a couple of years, it's probably not the sound investment you might think.