Used Tesla listings jumped by 33% so far this year with at least one industry expert saying CEO Elon Musk’s antics continue to have an “undeniable” impact on the brand.
Citing Autotrader data, analysts for Cox Automotive said Wednesday that Tesla listings jumped from around 8,500 at the beginning of 2025 to 11,515 on March 16. Still, the company saw increases in all other EV listings during the same period at 27% year-to-date, said Stephanie Valdez Streaty, Cox Automotive’s director of industry insights, in an industry forecast.
Tesla’s share of used EV listings only moved by one point to 40% this year, suggesting that the rise of Tesla listings could be due to greater product availability, she said.
“It’s undeniable that Elon Musk is an influential factor whose actions are impacting the brand’s image and sales, and only time will tell if Tesla can successfully navigate this critical juncture and find a new engine for growth,” Streaty said.
Teslas and showrooms across the US have been the subjects of attacks and vandalism in recent months following Musk’s association with the White House DOGE office. This week, the FBI created a task force to investigate and crack down on what it called “acts of violence, vandalism, and domestic terrorism.”
Still, Tesla owners looking to offload their EVs might not get as much back for the car as they paid for it. Used Tesla prices have been in a freefall for the past few years, with the average price of a used Tesla now $10,000 less than that of a non-Tesla electric car, according to data from the dealership website CarGurus.
Streaty said Tesla has faced “significant challenges” since propelling the EV market into the mainstream in 2020. Several factors, including increased competition, an aging product lineup, economic factors affecting consumers, and controversies surrounding Elon Musk, have caused the company to experience declining sales in the US.
“We believe, without a significant change in strategy to develop new products with widespread appeal, Tesla’s high watermark as an automaker may be in the past,” she said.
One former Tesla owner, Scott Oran, a real estate developer who lives near Boston, previously told BI he decided to sell his Model 3 after Musk’s political moves left him “embarrassed” to be seen driving it.
“I think, unfortunately, through Elon Musk’s actions, he’s probably irrevocably damaged the Tesla brand,” Oran said.
Tesla did not immediately return a request for comment from Business Insider on Thursday.
