Used Teslas Are Getting More Expensive While Other EVs Get Cheaper

If you want a used EV, you might have to pay the Elon tax. If you thought you’d be getting a better deal on a used Tesla than a new one, you’re out of luck. That’s according to a study from iSeeCars, which tracks new and used car prices. It reported last week that since the end of the federal EV tax credit on Sept. 30, 2025, until January, used Tesla prices had increased an average of 4.3%, from just over $30,000 to $31,329 so far this year. A used Model 3 between one and five years old is 2.6% more expensive than at the end of September, and a similarly aged Model Y is essentially the same price with a 1.3% price bump. However, the Tesla Model X has risen in price 10.3% to more than $57,000, and a Model S is now $51,000, an 8.5% bump. Tesla announced last month that the Model S and Model X—the company’s oldest products in production—would be discontinued by the middle of this year to make room at the Fremont factory for Optimus robot production. Nearly every other brand’s EVs, though, are selling for much less than they were last fall. Used examples of models like the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Volkswagen ID.4 are now at least 5% cheaper than before, and the Hyundai Kona Electric sells for an average price of less than $20,000. In fact, the entire used EV market commands a 20% smaller share than it did in September, entirely wiping out the gains it got leading up to the end of the federal tax credit and the end of many incentives in other states. Used electric car buyers were eligible for as much as $4,000 from the U.S. for the purchase, on top of any other state and local perks. New and used EV sales tanked after Sept. 30. New EV prices dropped 2.3%, according to iSeeCars, but mostly for models like the Chevrolet Equinox EV and Hyundai Ioniq 5, which were repriced to avoid some steep incentives. “The loss of the EV credit, for both new and used electric cars, has forced a price reduction on the majority of models,” iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer said. “Higher-priced vehicles, often sold in lower volumes to less price-sensitive buyers, have held steady or even gone up in price. But for mainstream non-Tesla EV buyers and sellers, the credit clearly played a part in selling electric vehicles, and it has been compensated for with lower prices.” Since 2026 is, at best, a weird year for EVs, they’ve dropped off the radar for a lot of people because of economic uncertainty. Many buyers are also waiting for the new models coming from Ford and startup Slate Auto that are set for next year. And a lot of two and three-year-old EVs, especially Teslas, should be available in the second half of this year. The average price of new gas and hybrid vehicles? It was more than $47,000 in January, and there’s nothing available for less than 20 grand these days.