Tesla Selling CPO Cars on Autotrader.com

TMC Member spectrablue pointed out last week that Tesla had started listing cars on third-party sites like Autotrader.com.

Tesla previously only sold those cars on Tesla.com and a network of company-owned stores. The company’s “certified pre-owned” program has helped them control the market and keep resale prices above the industry average.

There are now a significant enough number of Teslas on the roads that a cycle of vehicles coming off leases creates a sizable swell of used inventory. You can also add Tesla’s growing loaner fleet to that expanding used inventory. And, with that in mind it’s clear Tesla will be building a more robust used car strategy.

It’s seems this is the first time Tesla has marketed used cars on a third-party site. A request for comment from Tesla the day after spectrablue’s post has not been returned.

TMC Member HankLloydRight, who runs a site that consolidates Tesla new and used inventory car listings in one place, said he has not previously seen Tesla offering its own inventory on Autotrader.com.

Autotrader currently has Tesla cars listed in California, Massachusetts, and Virginia, among other locations.

Tesla has been proud to tout that it does little promotion for its cars, prompting a headline earlier this month from AdAge reading “Tesla Still Doesn’t Need Paid Advertising to Make Sales.”

But, when in comes to used vehicles, it seems Tesla is willing to peel off some marketing budget for classifieds. Maybe we’ll see Tesla inventory hit Craigslist next.

 

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