Tesla cut the price of all its models in many markets by as much as 20 percent in January and while it did spur sales and make inventories drop, it also had a negative effect. All the people who bought one before the price was dropped say they feel cheated, especially since the new price affects the the value of their vehicle.
Automotive News quotes Marianne Simmons, a self-confessed “Tesla fan girl” from Naples, Florida who bought a brand new Model Y Performance in September of 2022, for which she paid over $77,000. Now that exact same vehicle would cost around $13,000 less and she says
I feel like I got duped. I feel like a got taken advantage of as a consumer. Right off the bat, I’m out $13,306. It’s such a large reduction that it’s going to affect a lot of people who just bought a vehicle.
I would not buy a Tesla again. That’s saying a lot for me. I was a huge Tesla fan girl. I’d go with a competitor like Lucid or Rivian
Another Tesla buyer who is upset is 46 year-old Jack Bradham from Charlotte, North Carolina, who ordered his Model Y Long Range late last year and was initially expecting to take delivery in early 2023. However, he got a call from Tesla that he could get his car around Christmas, which he did, paying $69,000 for a vehicle that literally a few days later would have cost about $12,000 less.
And there are thousands of people who bought a Tesla in the latter part of 2022 and now certainly see feel the same way, if you check relevant subreddits and forums. Many are voicing their disapproval, as well as their frustration at the inability to really do anything about it.
The source article also quotes Ivan Drury, director of insights for research website Edmunds.com, who noted that
For any existing owner it’s a kick to the teeth. Anyone who bought a Tesla recently will feel an immediate impact [and] wish they leased it.
This will obviously have an impact on these Teslas’ resale values, which will certainly go down, although probably not quite the same margin as the price cuts. And also factoring in the fact that used car prices fell across the board by 15 percent in December, the compound effect this will have on used Tesla values will make it an even harder pill to swallow.
