The Pragmatic And Moral Reasons To Sell Your Tesla (From A Car Journalist)
The best time to sell was before January 20th, but the second-best time is right this very instant.
When I tell strangers my job is to review cars for a living, the most common response is “what do you think of Tesla?” For well over a decade, Tesla has been the strange and novel outsider that caught the attention of the non-automotive world. Where “legacy” automakers were staid and dull, Tesla was tech-first and exciting. Its EVs set the bar during the 2010s for all other automakers, both in function and in screen-first form.
As CEO/majority shareholder Elon Musk and his DOGE project have moved towards becoming a de facto fourth branch of the right-wing Trump administration; however, enthusiasm has cooled dramatically. Protests at Tesla dealerships have cropped up across America. Secondary market values have cratered. Calls to trade in Teslas have mounted.
It is time for me to definitively answer all those strangers’ questions about Tesla: I don’t think they’re a good buy, and I think there’s a strong case to sell one you own right now.
First Off: Do Not Buy A New Tesla
Tesla’s first three mass-production models—the full-size luxury sedan Model S, the large gullwing-doored Model X SUV, and the affordable midsize sedan Model 3—were unrivaled in the EV market when they first launched. But in the past half a decade, Tesla’s competitive advantage has narrowed from a seemingly uncrossable chasm to a sliver at best. When the Tesla Model 3 hit the market in 2017, the best-selling EV in history was the Nissan Leaf. That relatively goofy-looking, economy-minded hatchback had an EPA-rated 107 miles of range. The Model 3 had a then-unheard-of maximum 310 miles of range.
But that lead today has shrunk to well within the margin of error. For a real-world example, the longest-range variant of the best-selling 2025 Tesla Model Y has 339 miles of EPA-estimated range; a 2024 Kia EV6 in its long-distance guise has 310 miles of range. (2025 EV6 EPA estimates are not complete yet, but Kia is targeting 319 miles.) When you account for the fact that Tesla had, for years, suppressed complaints about its overly-optimistic in-car range figures, and used unusual testing strategies to raise its EPA estimates, that 29 miles of extra range is a lot less consequential. In real-world tests by Edmunds, the vast majority of Teslas failed to reach their EPA estimated range—even though the vast majority of EVs from other brands that Edmunds tested exceeded their EPA estimates.
Many other auto manufacturers are also future-proofing their EVs for longevity—while Tesla continues on with relatively unchanged architecture. All of Tesla’s EVs are built on 400-volt underpinnings, while other manufacturers—including Kia—have moved to an 800-volt system. Implementing a lower-voltage system saves the company money up front, but it means that its components reach higher temperatures during fast charging or high-speed antics. This leads to further battery and range degradation over the long term.
Tesla also has a less-than-stellar safety history. NHTSA has opened several probes into Tesla, mostly for its “Full Self-Driving” functionality that, as of 2023, was implicated as a factor in 17 fatal crashes. The company’s most recent model, the Cybertruck, has suffered several rounds of embarrassing and dangerous recalls in numbers vastly higher than the industry average. (The most recent recall involved a risk the body panels would fly off while driving.) Additionally, the lack of easily accessible physical door linkages on most Teslas have been implicated in a variety of high-profile fatalities. Concerningly—despite stellar crash-test ratings—Teslas are involved in fatal accidents more often than any other brand, at a rate nearly twice the average.
Financially, the decision between many other EVs and Tesla remains a wash. To continue our example, the Kia EV6 and the Tesla Model Y are eligible for the full $7,500 federal EV tax credit. While the future of that incentive is very unclear, at the time of this writing, the equivalent long-range Kia is estimated to be slightly less expensive, by about $2,000. There are similarly close comparisons for every vehicle Tesla currently makes.
With startup U.S.-based automakers Lucid and Rivian, plus the entry of Chevrolet, Cadillac, Ford, Jeep, RAM, and Dodge into the EV space, there are plenty of domestic automakers to choose from without switching to a gas-powered car. As an automotive reviewer, it’s worth noting that I have found most EVs on the market to be better cars than Tesla’s offerings, as well. They ride smoother, they’re more intuitive, and there’s more specialization on offer at every level of the market. (Indeed, my go-to recommendation for new EV shoppers looking for a relatively affordable four-seater is a Kia EV6.)
With the Tesla Supercharger network increasingly open to non-Tesla EVs, it is genuinely easier than ever to skip the Tesla dealer and look elsewhere. But what if there’s one in your garage right now? Is it time to sell?
The Pragmatic Case To Sell Your Tesla
The main reason to sell now is that Teslas are shedding value at obscene rates and are likely to skyrocket in operating costs. EVs have long suffered from poor resale value, but Teslas have outpaced that trend for the past year and a half. Until the inauguration, this was largely thanks to the company’s use of aggressive discounting to move new inventory combined with large rental fleets—such as Hertz—dumping tens of thousands of cars on the market at once.
The situation has only worsened since Donald Trump’s election win. Elon Musk’s $290 million in Republican campaign support and his advisory role to the President have made him a lightning rod for criticism. This has been catastrophic for Tesla.
Tesla, for years, did not advertise its cars. It instead relied on word-of-mouth, media coverage, and Elon Musk’s massive personal platform, making him a figurehead of Tesla in a way that, say, Mary Barra of GM is not. Combined with the fact that Musk is Tesla’s single-largest shareholder and derives roughly 1/3rd of his $303 billion in net worth from Tesla stock, Tesla is now indelibly associated with the billionaire. (The massive crop of “I Bought This Before He Went Crazy” stickers is evidence of that.) Despite Musk’s right-wing views, Tesla owners skew more Democrat than drivers of any other brand. This makes them more likely to dump their cars from political pressure.
They appear to be doing just that. Tesla depreciation is triple the market average over the last 90 days. Edmunds has found that Teslas comprise 1.4% of current trade-ins, compared with just 0.4% a year ago. Edmunds found that buyers searching for new cars are also, increasingly, walking away from Teslas—just 1.8% of those surveyed are shopping for one compared with 3.3% as recently as November. It’s unlikely that right-wing buyers will show up in droves to replace cratering demand, even as Musk gains favorability among Republicans, as Republicans are vastly less likely to buy an EV for their next vehicle.
Concerningly for current owners, as values collapse further, new Teslas will become comparatively worse deals. Due to Tesla’s direct-sales model, it has a much stronger incentive to move inventory than most other automakers, which makes further fire sale incentives likely—and risks creating a negative feedback loop.
Even worse for current owners, it may not even be a wise financial choice to sit on a rapidly-depreciating Tesla. Tesla insurance rates have long been well above average, with premiums coming in somewhere between an average Aston Martin and an average Porsche policy. This is thanks to poor parts availability, a shortage of trained technicians, and complex repairs.
With Musk and Tesla as symbols of the Trump administration, it’s made Teslas a magnet for vandalism, and insurers warn that could drive premiums up even higher. While the US Attorney General, Pam Bondi, has threatened to hit Tesla vandals with domestic terrorism charges, it remains unclear if she has the legal standing to do so and if it will actually deter vandalism, especially if Musk touches the third rail of American politics and guts Social Security as he has threatened to.
Even if you plan to drive your Tesla into the ground, if the company hits dire straits, it’s likely to be more difficult to maintain than most other cars. Tesla is much more vertically integrated than other automakers, meaning that it manufactures most components internally—limiting the number of third-party replacement parts available. Its direct-sales model means that if the company needs to cut costs, there are no dealer franchises with other brands on hand to help offload the burden: either the company sells enough cars to keep its outlets and service centers—which it also directly owns—open, or it has to close them. A steady stream of parts and service is dependent on the company’s continued health, and even if its U.S. market sales recover, Tesla is currently facing brutal headwinds in both China and Europe.
If this has convinced you to sell, there are a handful of competitors specifically enticing Tesla owners to defect to another brand right now. Polestar is currently offering $20,000 in discounts for Tesla trade-ins on Polestar 3 leases. Lucid is offering a $4,000 bonus to Tesla owners. Still, I’ll admit: it’s likely that if you trade in a Tesla today you’ll take a haircut, given how rapidly the cars have depreciated—but it’s fairly likely to get worse as the months wear on. Better to rip the band-aid off now.
If this hasn’t convinced you yet, however, there’s still my most important argument.
The Moral Case To Trade In Your Tesla
Elon Musk appears to be an aspiring oligarch. He purchased one of the largest social media sites on Earth and turned it into a right-wing propaganda outlet. He then spent $290 million on supporting Republicans in the 2024 elections. Since then, he has received unprecedented direct support for Tesla from the federal government, including a brazenly unethical car-sales-pitch performed by the President on the White House lawn and an FBI task force dedicated to protecting Tesla’s cars from vandalism.
He has parlayed his influence and wealth into an unprecedented amount of access, via his special advisory role to the President and “DOGE”, to sensitive governmental information and funding. DOGE’s haphazard behavior is actively making civil servants’ lives more stressful. DOGE overstepped any constitutional justification to shut down the humanitarian USAID organization, potentially harming tens of thousands of people and irreparably damaging the U.S. 's standing on the international stage. His DOGE-directed cuts to the IRS are estimated to cost the federal government $500 billion this year alone. DOGE’s next goals are to cut away at USPS and Social Security.
Musk himself has repeatedly espoused versions of the Great Replacement Theory, a discredited extremist view that repackages white supremacist ideology to paint immigration as a plot to destroy the West. He believes birth control and abortion could “cause the collapse of civilization”. He has publicly retweeted posts stating that “Hitler didn’t murder millions”. At the inauguration, he repeatedly performed a gesture that looked like a Nazi salute, and then when pressed on it, joked about Nazis.
Most of what he has accomplished in his “special advisory role” to President Trump has actively harmed the United States. Most of his views are abhorrent to an overwhelming majority of Americans, and he is wildly unpopular. While some corrections can (hopefully) be made in the 2026 and 2028 elections, Musk and DOGE have moved fast enough that it’s likely the federal government is already permanently damaged. Stopping him quickly is the only way to limit the carnage. As an unelected and unaccountable “advisor”, the American public has little recourse… except via Tesla.
His influence largely has stemmed from his wealth; a third of his $300 billion in net worth is directly from Tesla stock. Tesla—as a direct-sales consumer-goods firm that owns both distribution and service networks—is uniquely weak to a widespread boycott of its products, both on the new and used markets. Indeed, one of the very few parts of Tesla’s business that continued to increase in revenue in Q4 2024 was its service business, which means depriving the company of that revenue—by trading in your Tesla and letting it sit on a dealer lot, untouched—is extremely impactful to the company’s short-term prospects, and to Musk’s net worth.
It is likely that sustained pressure will heavily damage the company—and reduce Musk’s wealth and power. With other environmentally-friendly cars on the market (and a growing EV reuse and recycling industry for Teslas that end up utterly worthless), there are very few downsides to trading your Tesla right this moment. We can stop supporting the world's richest man and his quest to remake the government in his own image. We might just stop him in his tracks entirely in the process.
If you were waiting for a sign, this is it. It’s time to sell.