Question of the week: Is now a good time to buy a used Tesla?

David Ross, Editor
Fri, 21 Feb 2025

Dear Honest John,

"I'm seeing a lot of noise online about Tesla owners wanting to get rid of their cars because of Elon Musk. Does a car becoming unpopular make it a bargain? I was considering buying a used Tesla already, but is now a good time to do so?"

- KP

Dear KP,

Sales of new Tesla vehicles in most countries around the world appeared to have taken something of a hit in recent months, as much as 75% in Spain and 63% in France. While UK sales are down a more modest 12%, this does appear to show a change in sentiment.

Many analysts have attributed this sudden and significant shift to the political actions of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whose public proclamations, social media activity and close involvement with current US President Donald Trump.

Tesla dealerships have been targeted with graffiti and some existing Tesla owners have been quite vocal about their feelings. Car stickers displaying a variety of seemingly anti-Musk slogans are apparently selling well, including 'I Bought This Before We Knew Elon Was Crazy' and 'Vintage Tesla - Pre-Madness Edition' among them.

Even Grammy-winning singer Cheryl Crow sold her Tesla and suggested she would send the proceeds of the sale to the NPR news organisation, a frequent target of Musk.

What this means as a potential used Tesla buyer is that there are potentially a glut of cars entering the market, which not only means more choice but also prices should be falling. Buyers who are willing to sell their car because of the political activities of the CEO are probably more likely to accept a cheeky offer.

If the potential social implications of owning a Tesla are irrelevant to you - and that's an entirely personal point of view - there probably has never been a better time to find a used one.

In fact, we're currently running a survey to find out what readers think of Elon Musk. You can have your say here.

Ask HJ

Which electric cars have a mix of performance and range?

I'm looking at electric cars - what has the best balance between performance and mileage? It needs to be a family car.

The relationship between performance and economy/mileage isn't quite the same for electric cars as it is for petrol and diesel cars. Smaller electric cars only have space for smaller batteries, so their range is limited while still offering performance that is frequently better than a petrol equivalent. Larger cars have space for bigger batteries and so have more range, but also tend to have more performance too - as an example the Tesla Model 3 in basic trim offers 318 miles of range and 0-60mph in 5.8 seconds, while the Long Range model has 436 miles of range but is even faster at 4.9 seconds to 60mph, although like petrol and diesel cars if you exploit the available performance frequently then your available range is also reduced. We would suggest looking at cars like the Tesla Model 3, Kia EV6, Ford Mustang Mach-E and Volkswagen ID.4 GTX, all of which are family-sized with a good mix of performance and range.

Answered by David Ross

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