After two years of driving his Tesla Model S, this American man decided it was time to sell it – but he was stunned at how much it was now worth.
Kyle Conner spent $140,000 when he picked up the EV back in 2022.
When it came time to get the car appraised two years later, he was likely hoping for a sizable amount back.
But he was in for an unpleasant surprise when he took it in to have it valued.
How much could this YouTuber expect to get for his Tesla Model S?
Conner, the host of YouTube channel Out of Spec Reviews, has had his fair share of experience with EVs, including the Model 3 Long Range and the Zeekr 001 FR.
But even someone as experienced as him couldn’t help being taken aback by this news.
When he bought this Model S in 2022, he paid $140,490 for the car.
Two years later, its value had dipped considerably.
TikToker Chris Pearce provided some commentary on the matter, flashing up an image of the invoice from Tesla’s inspection.
In the two years between purchase and appraisal, the Tesla had gone from being $140k to a mere $46,400.
That’s a loss of $94,000 – or 67 percent of its original value, to put it another way.
Pearce noted that Conner might have gotten better prices had he chosen to sell privately.
“The appraisal came straight from Tesla, so it could be a lowball offer,” Pearce explained.
“But even sites like Edmunds, or Consumer Reports wouldn’t give him more than $59,000 at the absolute highest.”
Conner himself didn’t have all that much to say on the matter when he shared the image, besides the words ‘depreciation’.
In a reply to the tweet, he told a follower ‘mine feels like it’s falling apart’.
However, in a follow-up tweet, he expressed dismay that his post about the depreciation had gained so much media traction.
“We posted the most glowing review possible of the new Long Range RWD Model 3… nobody shared,” he wrote.
“I posted two screen shots about a Model S with a single word ‘depreciation’ and everyone writes about it. Huge Tesla hate bias in the media.”
Are EVs depreciating at a faster rate than gas cars?
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen someone speak publicly about the depreciation of their EV.
British YouTuber The MacMaster has made no secret of the depreciation of his Porsche Taycan – in the first and second generation.
In fact, he’s gone as far as to declare it ‘worthless’ and ‘scrap value’.
Ouch.
But is here any truth to the notion that EVs depreciate faster than their ICE equivalents?
It is something we are seeing more across the board, with one Chinese EV being branded the ‘fastest depreciating car’, with 75 percent of its value lost in just three years.
Part of the reason behind this higher drop in depreciation is because the tech underpinning EVs is advancing so fast.
This leaves cars made just a few years ago worth less as a result.
Tatiana Boohoff, the managing partner of Boohofff Law, made this point while commenting on a study on EV depreciation.
“The dramatic devaluation of early electric vehicles reveals a market still coming to terms with rapid technological evolution,” she said.
“Premium models face steeper percentage drops, indicating luxury features don’t shield against obsolescence when battery technology and range capabilities advance so quickly.
“First-generation EVs essentially serve as technological time capsules, with their value reflecting how far the industry has progressed.”
