There was plenty of pent-up demand when the Tesla Cybertruck finally hit the market late last year. It was hot property on launch by virtue of its unique and outlandish design, Despite Tesla’s legal threats to restrict resales, Cybertrucks were soon getting flipped for immense prices. However, now that the hype has cooled down, Cybertruck prices are crashing back to Earth.
As a starting point, consider the prices Tesla is actually charging for the Cybertruck. Foundation Series models start at $102,235, but you need a reservation and an invite to get one. The triple-motor Cyberbeast version adds another $20,000 on top of that.
For those that aren’t on the reservation list, the only way to get a Cybertruck quickly is to look at the resale market. As reported by Automotive News, February saw one Flordia dealership buy a Cybertruck for $244,000 at auction. The truck was then relisted at $289,999 just days later. If you’re selling your Cybertruck today, though, you couldn’t hope to get anything like those figures.
At the start of March, auctions were closing around the $190,000 mark. They’ve only cratered further since then. Bring a Trailer sold a Cybertruck for $160,000 at the end of last month. Cars and Bids has a dual-motor Cybertruck currently sitting at $130,000 with 18 hours remaining on the auction. That comes after the site hosted an auction ending on March 22 that failed to reach reserve. The highest bid was just $158,000.
If you’ve bought a Cybertruck from Tesla and you’re bored of it already, there is still hope. You can likely still sell it make a profit on what you paid. You won’t get crazy money, but it’s still a win if you come out ahead. If you bought from a reseller, though, you’re probably a long way in the red.
As a guide, CarGurus currently has a number of dual-motor Cybertrucks up for sale for just $149,000. You could list your Cybertruck for $130,000, get a really quick sale, and net a good $20,000 profit or so in just a few days.
However, it’s important to remember that reselling can attract the wrath of Tesla, which has threatened to levy huge fines against resellers. Whether the automaker can do this is up for debate, but Tesla has already allegedly banned some resellers from placing orders in future.
One important exception, too, is this example for sale at Sotheby’s. It’s currently sitting at $242,000 with one day left to go. However, this auction is an outlier for one main reason. Unlike most Cybertrucks up for resale, this is a top-tier triple-motor Cyberbeast model. It’s a top-of-the-line Cybertruck and it’s comparatively much rarer than the dual-motor model right now.
Ultimately, the crash in Cybertruck prices is no surprise. Tesla will build tens of thousands this year. As supply increases to meet demand, prices will naturally stabilize. We saw exactly the same thing occur with the GMC Hummer EV just a little while ago. Tesla’s goal was always for the Cybertruck to be a volume seller, so it won’t be expensive forever.
As the Cybertruck fad dies down and the YouTube takes have all been filmed, expect a used Cybertruck to become cheaper than a new one. Just like how it works with every other car on the market.
Image credits: Sotheby’s, CarGurus, Cars and Bids
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The more I think about the cybertruck (shudder) and the more I see them in the flesh (double shudder), the more I think that spinners should make a comeback on the CT. The half-rendered angular look should meld perfectly with the half-rendered look of some spinners floating on the wheels as it makes its way down the street.
I’m waiting to see one done up in a black wrap with green electroluminescent piping at the edges and nodes of the wireframe so it looks like a Battlezone vehicle.
Saw one the other day for the first time. It looks pretty dumb in the flesh. Ultimate dork garage = 1st Gen Hummer and a CT.
I think the funniest thing I’ve been seeing is the folks doing retroactive justification for the purchase. Just own up to the fact you bought it because you wanted it. I’d respect that more. In as much as .001 > 0.
But yeah, I don’t know exactly when “Man Maths” entered the vernacular, but I’m sure the immediate depreciation on the vehicle is making the equation far, far worse than expected for the folks who bought in.
I for one am really looking forward to people losing their ass on these and hoping it does happen. Anyone who buys one deserves a financial punishment. Only ones who have any practical reason to overpay are influencers who will profit off the clicks.
The prices will likely stabilize once the novelty wears off. I worked with a guy who bought a new H1 Hummer around 2000. He paid about 85 K IIRC. Thing was huge, ugly, noisy, and uncomfortable. Depreciated like a rock, and he sold it after a couple of years and about 20 K depreciation. The things today are selling for about what he paid back then. IMO the Cyberthing is subject the the muskrat reality distortion field like everything else he is in the proximity of and prices will normalize once the ‘shiny object’ syndrome wears off.
Forget that horrible tin can. LOOGIT THIS!!
https://carsandbids.com/auctions/35ExMlbE/1997-peugeot-106-rallye-s2
I know the author and others have said this vehicle will not be a limited run, but is it possible that some of the people trading them are speculating that it will be? While the Cybertruck doesn’t appeal to me, it is undoubtedly a unique design, and if it is cancelled sooner than later, maybe some people think that uniqueness will translate to desirability.
Or maybe its just too many people with more money than brains who can’t be bothered to wait in line. Time will tell.
The second option. It’s always the second option.
People who bought ugly ape jpegs are now buying Cybertrucks.
I think it could be a case that people have a bias towards assuming other people think like they do.
“Man, I want this Cybertruck so bad! I’ll buy one and it’ll be so in demand it’ll only go up in price!”
Other people are just economically minded flippers.
I saw a forum post somewhere… someone no longer wanted a Cybertruck, but their reservation was granted. They asked if they should buy it to flip for a few K.
Looks like a nice truck! Never heard of it before!
I’ve seen a few in person but over the weekend got an up close look as one was valet parked front and center at the restaurant I went to.
They should have hid it in the back.
I’ve only seen two or three in LA. One of them was on a flatbed with both front wheels collapsed inward. It was dirty but I didn’t see any other damage. Strange.
Probably could’ve spot those panel gaps across the street
I appreciate how every pic (of cars that people are trying to sell) shows an awful finish on the panels. It’s very honest of them to put one of the long term issues right out on front street.
I assume eventually these will all be wrapped.
And let the drooling begin from those who are itching to bash a person they have never met. Sad, realy.
It’s a good car, no more no less. It has its faults, just like a Toyota.
I’d argue that it isn’t a good car – it’s an automotive equivalent of a meme stock.
The F150 Lightning or the Silverado EV are measurably better trucks because they started off as trucks.
Fair. Same way a Miata is better than a Saturn Sky. Noone is getting itchy fingers about either one. They are what they are.
I am. I love Miatas and will never pass up an opportunity to share the good news.
Don’t let your wife see this, lol.
Why not? She’s well aware and is cool with us getting on as a pure fun car in a few years. She loves Miatas.
He’s not going to notice you trying to defend him or his shitty products.
Never trust a man with two first names.
Also, if you think I am defending another person that I have no vested interest in, don’t get me started on the cheese industry.
Has Tesla managed to eliminate that Musk-y odor inside Cybertrucks? If not, I predict resale prices will continue to drop.
Sorry. That was me.
Cotd or the whole thing is broken.
That fragrance is a feature!!
Resale value shouldn’t be above MSRP, since it’s a current production vehicle that’s available brand-new right now, yeah, supplies are currently limited as the factory ramps up, but it probably won’t be too much longer before anybody who wants a Cybertruck can get a Cybertruck pretty easily. Also, frankly, these things are so new that there really shouldn’t be any data points on resale value, and it’s pretty ridiculous that there even are
A used car is still selling ABOVE the original purchase price and the Autopian decides to publish a Jalopnikesque headline because ‘space man bad’. Author will then bend over backwards trying to justify saying “in the article I clearly wrote…”. Pretty sad. Comments section are complete with the same type of intellectual cripples accusing others of brainrot and predicting 20 to 40k resale in a few years. What is it about otherwise intelligent people that makes them so stupid?
The argument here is more how quickly the prices are falling. Only the first few are hitting the used market and have already dipped to close to MSRP, while trucks like Rivians and Hummer EVs took nearly a year of production and a (relatively) large used market for prices to come down. Even in the world of high hype EVs with a lot of demand and excitement, the Cybertruck values are crashing hard.
Also, try to keep comments here more constructive, there is nothing wrong with debating the merits of X or Y argument, but devolving directly to name calling is something this site and its commenters pride ourselves on avoiding.
I am a Tesla fan (I own a Model 3) and I don’t hate the Cybertruck (I actually kind of like the styling). I still think these are going to have horrendous resale value, though. The fact remains that the Cybertruck’s biggest selling point is its styling, which is exceptionally polarizing. It is not great as a pickup truck due to its small, unusually shaped bed and limited range while towing. It is not great as a car either, mostly due to its extreme width which affects maneuverability and ease of parking. Also, the exterior requires additional maintenance beyond that of a normal car and its range is less than that of a Model S. The price is very high because they are cool, new, and rare. That all goes away when Tesla ramps up production and these are readily available. That Tesla intends to sell a $60,000 base model Cybertruck next year is also not great for resale values of high-spec early production models.
I suspect Cybertruck depreciation will be similar to the Harley-Davidson Livewire. A few people liked the bike enough to pay $30,000 when they were new (I am one of these buyers, incidentally). Now that some of the novelty has worn off, the limitations of the bike are more apparent (limited range, somewhat uncomfortable riding position, and lack of charging infrastructure), prices have fallen considerably. It also doesn’t help that the MSRP was slashed by $7,500 after one year of production and a cheaper Livewire model is now available. As a result of this, I have seen these bikes sell for as low as $10,000 (I really should have bought mine used…).
I am probably an outlier thinking used Cybertrucks will sell for as low as $20,000 in 4 years, but this is such a unique, polarizing vehicle that is selling for irrational reasons, so that I think that is possible if these are mass produced.
“Comments section are complete with the same type of intellectual cripples accusing others of brain rot and predicting 20 to 40k resale in a few years. What is it about otherwise intelligent people that makes them so stupid?”
I am not sure why you chose to be insulting instead of attempting to provide a counterargument that Cybertruck values will remain high. Can you provide a counterargument? I will consider it if you take the time to write one.
I never understood why Harley doesn’t sell a Livewire adventure bike, like the ones they built for Ewan and Charlie on Long Way Up. Much more practical with a more comfortable riding position and (slightly) better range.
The current bikes seem to be aimed at their historical client base, who are now too old to embrace new tech and want the potato exhaust note.
A Livewire adventure bike would be cool, particularly if it had access to the Tesla charging network. I have heard great things about the Pan America. H-D has shown they can make a good adventure bike, and they seem reasonably well received among fans of traditional H-D products.
The Livewire was a terrible fit for Harley. I assume H-D always intended to spin it off as a separate brand (which they did after 1 year). My suspicion is that they only sold it as a Harley to give it more credibility than a bike sold from a startup manufacturer.
I am sure many potential buyers felt really out of place at a Harley dealership. It also doesn’t help that many Harley fans really hate it. If I ever talk to an older H-D rider about my Livewire, I usually lead by saying I also own a Road King.
I’ve dabbled in flipping collectibles (think toys for adult nerds) and guitars and the one thing I’ve learned is to spot which ones will have a very short window to profit. Production scale matters, yet people are acting like Tesla was planning to build 1000 and stop.
That said, I’m curious how the production numbers compare to the Hummer. It held its resale for longer it seems but I also saw very few of them despite living by an area with a lot of money. Already, I’ve seen as many Cybertrucks around as I’ve seen Hummers over a much shorter timespan.
Side tangent: Anyone else see one at night? Very cool look from the front light bar….but then has derpy round actual headlights below. Assumed the actual headlamps weren’t in the bar, but didn’t expect them to look like generic round beams that don’t line up with any of the styling of the car. It’s as if they just said f*** it when making it road legal and just threw the first headlamps they could find on.
As someone else who plays and collects guitars, they’re really not ever good investments unless you’re willing to pay ridiculous sums of money for super limited stuff that wealthy Boomers are in to. You know, the usual…50s and 60s Fenders and Gibsons, assorted Gibson limited run customs and signatures, stuff like that. If it isn’t extremely limited and from a heritage brand the best you’re going to manage is something that more or less holds its value.
And unless you’re very wealthy yourself and taking guitars on as a pet project you’d be better off investing that money in one way or another than dropping $20,000+ on some Gibson custom shop limited run Kirk Hammett Greeny or something. The other minus to this is that Gibsons and Fenders really aren’t great guitars in 2024. If you’re mothballing yours it doesn’t matter, but I’ve owned stuff from pretty much every heritage brand and they objectively have worse QC, less tonal flexibility, and are more of a pain to play frequently than what you can get from more contemporary brands like PRS, ESP, etc.
Not that type of purchasing at all. Jumped on the opportunity following the Adam Jones craziness and have picked up a few signatures that were easy to quickly flip and make a good chunk on. Not grabbing the $10k plus custom shop releases. Like the Noel Gallagher J-150. If you know Gallagher fandom, it was clear those would spike. Now the Epi DG-335 on the other hand, anyone who thought those would spike and stay there screwed up. If you didn’t have one in hand and flip in the first few days you are now sitting on one hoping someone will cover your Reverb costs. Which is all very much about cars…..wait, what site are we on again?
Bentley continental gt/ flying spur with W12 engine is probably analogous.
I have a hard time seeing this as a price crash. A few people for whom money is no object paid ridiculous premiums to skip the line. That doesn’t mean Cybertrucks were actually worth the prices some people paid initially.
What will be interesting is to see what these sell for when a true second-hand market exists. There aren’t many (any?) rational reasons to choose a Cybertruck over other EVs (including other Tesla products). I suspect these will have some of the worst depreciation curves of any vehicle. I could see used typical-mileage Cybertrucks selling for $20,000 when they are 4 years old. I suspect the headline “Tesla Cybertruck resale values are falling fast” will appear on this website again in the future.
And they’ll be worth 30-40 grand in a year so because they’re rolling memes. It’s the same nonsense as the GameStop stocks, crypto, etc with EV depreciation on top of it. A bunch of edgelords with more time and money than sense bought them for the lolz and clout…but in this day and age of social media brainrot and attention spans that struggle to reach 30 seconds it’ll be forgotten as quickly as it came.
I believe you will be proven correct. The resale price on Tesla sedans is plunging for a number of reasons, and this model appears to have many technical problems in the early production version. I’ve noticed a number of these on Tweater sidelined with steer by wire problems which would make me nervous.
This is the case with nearly every vehicle that hits the market with limited supply, when supply begins to meet demand. This happened for Rivians, Lightnings, Mavericks, Broncos, earlier Teslas…nearly every vehicle (even ICE ones) that don’t restrict supply.
Did you not read the article? Cause you’re basically just restating it.
That’s not what the article says at all. The closest it gets is:
Which is different. If you take that paragraph in context of the rest of the article, it still somewhat implies it’s the fault of Tesla and a somewhat unique scenario for them (and apparently the Hummer EV).
Is it nice to laugh at idiots who are now taking a bath on their cyber trucks? Probably not, but am I going to do it anyway? Is Elon Musk is the wish.com version of Henry Ford? The answer to both of those questions is an affirmative. LOL.
No one is taking a bath. They are still selling for more than MSRP, so flippers are still profiting, just not near as much as they were months ago.
Subtract out sales tax, they aren’t netting that much of a profit any more it looks like. Still making some money, just not a ton any more.
Still pretty good money. They mention the $149,000 ones listed for sale, and mention that if they sold them faster at $130k, they’d still make $20k. So that means they are ~$110k MSRP. Tax around my parts is 8%, so $119k not including any financing. So if they actually sell for $149k, they are making 20% for providing zero added value. Even at the suggested $130k it’s 8.5%.
Point is, the ones availables for these 120/130k are not even selling.
Article kind of implies otherwise:
I wish my definition of “taking a bath” was only making a 20% profit. I’d bathe every day 🙂
Yeah, I remember when a hard drive with a gig of memory was like $1000. What are prices for that now? Quick search shows me 2TB drives for like $70 or so, give or take. That’s what electric cars are for me right now, especially the CyberTruck.
Big price speculation sucks, regardless of the market.
Serious question: Did anybody not see this coming? I cannot fathom how this wasn’t the obvious result after those initial auctions.
It’s not a truck, it’s a ridiculously expensive meme. Why anybody would buy this over a Rivian or F150 Lightning is beyond me.
That Florida dealership is baffling. A dealership should have known what was going to happen with the price. They basically rolled the dice…using a magnetic die that favoured the house.
Good thing they’re a Porsche dealership! Just add and extra $10k to the next 15 special edition 911’s they sell and the books will be happy again. Should only take…. 6 months or so for Porsche to release that many?