That horrible strategy also included selling upwards of a million EVs for incredibly overinflated prices.. in which the price literally dropped overnight by about $13,000 with absolutely no notice. Combined with the new $7,500 tax credit.. it means anybody who just purchased a Model Y in the 2022 calendar year.. had lost atleast 20% of the value of their car basically overnight.
I can promise you those million people who bought in 2022 will not forget that experience. Take a look at MOST of the used car threads on THIS forum. You see people getting shocked in real-time as their asking price for a vehicle is often several thousands higher than the current market value. I've seen some threads where people were tens of thousands above actual market value. They basically keep dropping the price.. and dropping the price.. and dropping the price. This guy has his 2023 Y for sale.. only 1,000 miles.. watch what happens:
For Sale 2023 Model Y Dual Motor LR (NJ)
For the vast majority of shoppers.. it's probably the most expensive purchase they have ever made outside of their home. And now it means they are stuck with that negative equity on that vehicle for the next 3-4 years in most cases. Many dealers don't even want to bother with a Tesla trade-in going forward.. as they got seriously burnt on inventory too. This means the typical Tesla is now ONLY worth whatever the current auction prices are.. as local dealers don't want to bother trying to sell them at retail anymore. Even Tesla themselves only offered $21K for my two-year-old Model Y.
For those that didn't get the rug snatched from under them.. it still makes them wary of purchasing a new Tesla. Simply because with all the price cuts that have happened this year (I believe this is now the 6th price cut since December 2022).. it makes you more hesitant to purchase as you are scared that another price cut is going to happen sooner.. than later. Id imagine even those people who were celebrating the $20K cheaper price they scored in February.. also are not at all happy to see the price drop by another $3,000 this morning.
Thus far in 2023.. those who have waited to purchase have gotten seriously rewarded for their patience. Will be EXTREMELY interesting to see what the price of the Model 3 and Model Y will be around December.