The only thing better than a new Tesla is a cheap Tesla, and the company reportedly is set to unveil a program to address the sticker shock and it isn’t a cheaper car. It’s used cars.
Certified pre-owned vehicles are big business for luxury automakers. Speaking to automotive News, Tesla vice president of communications, Simon Sproule, confirmed that the electric car maker is developing a program to resell Tesla vehicles.
Tesla would sell used Model S sedans under the “certified” moniker hoping to lure buyers who want quality at a lower price. BMW and Mercedes-Benz have done this for years, but Tesla’s entrance into this market would be a boon for consumers and the car company itself.
Unlike BMW or Mercedes, Tesla owns its dealerships, allowing it to retain much more of the used car’s profit than a traditional auto maker.
Elon Musk previously guaranteed the resale value of the Model S. Announced in April 2013, those who financed a Model S are allowed to return the vehicle after three years for 43 to 50 percent of its sticker price — just in time to buy a new Tesla vehicle.
Tesla is set to unveil an updated Model S and another electric vehicle later this week. The Model X SUV will hit the market early next year and an inexpensive Tesla (somewhere around $35k) should be available late next year. If Tesla’s trade-in program is successful, it needs to be able to offer current Tesla owners something other than another Model S.
This trade-in program would also serve consumers who want to forgo gas and buy a Tesla but cannot afford the high price of a new Model S. supposedly, Tesla dealerships would thoroughly inspect the returned Model S before reselling it, hoping to alleviate some anxiety with buying a used electric car.
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Matt Burns is a longtime technology journalist, now Editorial Director at Insight Media Group and formerly Managing Editor at TechCrunch. At Insight Media Group, he guides coverage and contributor programs across fast-growing tech publications. Before that, he spent 15+ years at TechCrunch, rising from contributor to Managing Editor, helping scale the newsroom and program Disrupt’s stages and TechCrunch’s other events. Earlier, he also wrote for Engadget. Matt co-founded the Resilience Conference, an event series at the intersection of defense, security, and startup innovation. There he builds agendas, hosts sessions, and launched “Launch @ Resilience,” a showcase for early-stage teams building nation-defending technology. Across roles, he’s reported on and moderated conversations in AI, mobility, frontier tech, and the hard problems technology companies face. He’s interviewed world leaders, top investors, startup founders, and public-company CEOs. Lifelong Michiganian with plenty of Silicon Valley miles, he brings Midwest empathy and an editor’s eye. Offstage, he works with teams to sharpen narrative and validate go-to-market plans, and, when possible, camping along Lake Michigan.