People Are Ditching Their Used Teslas… and Finding Eager Buyers

It’s been a difficult year for Tesla drivers who don’t align with founder and CEO Elon Musk’s political views, DOGE moves, or recent compensation package. Regardless of the reason, used Teslas have flooded lots across the country this year, but they’ve been finding new buyers more quickly than almost all other similarly aged vehicles—gas or electric.

Edmunds released its report on the 20 fastest-selling three-year-old vehicles in the third quarter of 2025 on November 10, and the Tesla Model S took the fewest days to sell at 21.5 on average, just over half the average of 41 days for a used car. The Model 3 was a close second at 22 days, and the Model Y was in fourth place at 26.3 days. 

Three-year-old models are used for studies such as these because it’s a typical amount of time for a new car buyer to change to the latest model due to a significant revision or the end of a lease. 

Despite Tesla’s sliding sales in 2025, the Model Y and Model 3 are routinely the best-selling EVs in the US, and with more coming off of two or three-year leases in 2026, inventory is expected to keep up with demand, if it’s anything like 2025 so far. The problem is that much of that momentum, especially until October 1, was driven by the phasing out of the used EV federal tax credit of as much as $4,000. 

That makes the last three months of this year the largest indicator of whether used EV demand continues as cars are traded in or if they also experience the post-tax credit hangover new EVs already did in October. The Honda Prologue EV’s October 2025 sales fell 81% compared to a year earlier, according to Car and Driver.

“For dealers, the elimination of the highly visible federal credit for new EVs could push more shoppers toward the used market in search of affordability,†Edmunds stated in its report. 

Teslas weren’t the only hot-selling used EVs, though, as Hyundai Ioniq 5, Volkswagen ID. 4, Audi e-tron, Kia EV6, and Ford Mustang Mach-E all made the top 20 and took no more than 32.4 days to sell on average, below the 34-day average for all EVs in the report. Many of those EVs were among the best-selling models new in 2022.

It also comes as all used cars sat on dealer lots longer than the same period in 2024. Buyers paid more for them amid greater economic uncertainty, and people increasingly look for used deals, with the average new car costing more than $50,000 this year.

Edmunds noted that one of the reasons for EVs selling more quickly than other used cars has been because of the small inventory, stating only 1.6% of all used car inventory in the third quarter was made up of EVs. That makes sense because of the relative lack of models at the same time three years ago, but also indicates there should be more availability starting next year.

A vast inventory of 2022 Model 3 and Model Ys has helped Tesla in similar quarterly reports, but affordability is another issue. Edmunds reported the average three-year-old Model 3 sold for $24,447, or more than $32,000 less than the original sticker price. The average 2022 Model Y sold for close to $28,000 compared to about $69,000 new. All EVs face steeper depreciation compared to equivalent gas or hybrid cars, but the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and VW ID. 4 retained about 47% of their value after three years, compared to about 40% for a Model Y.

Tesla experienced growth in deliveries in 2023 before slowing in 2024. It already reacted to severe drops in international demand and predicted slowing sales in the US with cheaper and decontented Model 3 and Model Y Standard models last month, which were extremely poorly received by the brand’s fans and critics. 

That makes the performance of used Teslas next year, compared to rival models, even more telling of the brand’s health with mainstream buyers.