The Crazy, Confused World of Used Cybertruck Prices (Update)

On December 25, 2024By Littum

Los Angeles, CA – November 23: Car enthusiasts test drive a Tesla Cybertruck outside Los Angeles … (+) Angeles Convention Center as nearby colorful video screens illuminate the reflective surface and stage at the annual LA Auto Show in Los Angeles on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

I’m still trying to wrap my head around the used Cybertruck market. Dealers do not help.

I asked four dealers in Los Angeles—a red-hot market for Cybertrucks—about prices, and only one gave me a semi-rational answer. (This is an update to a similar story I wrote in October.)

Prices for used Cybertrucks are way down from February, but asking prices are still above the new prices from … (+) Tesla.

Credit: CarGurus

Background: Tesla delivered the first Cybertrucks late last year, albeit at a lavish starting price of $100,000 for the AWD Foundation Series. The lucky few who got the first deliveries—and were willing to pay a premium for the Foundation series—were able to flip low-mileage CTs for high prices. Asking prices went as high as $200,000 in the February-March time frame, according to CarGurus’ Used Tesla Cybertruck Price Trends Page.

That was then. The Cybertruck market is a very different animal now. Today, Tesla sells new AWD CTs for $79,990 with December availability, so logic would dictate that used AWD Cybertrucks would start to drop below new CT prices. But that doesn’t seem to be happening. The average price for a used Cybertruck in the last week of December is about $103,000, according to CarGurus.

Dealer #1: not totally crazy

The most rational (but not rational to me) used pricing argument was made by a dealer selling a Foundation Series Cybertruck for just under $92,000 with nearly 8,000 miles. Yes, it’s below the original AWD Foundation Series CT, which sold for $100,000 with full self-driving standard. So it might start to make sense to the uninitiated. But take a step back and look further and something is wrong.

A brand new AWD CT from Tesla costs $79,990. Throw in the FSD ($8,000) and you come to about $88,000. (Or just drop $8,000 and subscribe to FSD for $99/month and that will set you back $79,990.) So why pay $92,000 for a used CT Foundation Series with 8,000 miles over a new AWD CT with FSD direct from Tesla? I am still waiting for a reply.

(Note that the Foundation Series comes with some other extras like a Foundation Series badge and the Powershare Home Backup capability. And you get bragging rights for owning a Foundation CT.)

Dealer #2: Can’t hold my breath

This dealer sold a used AWD CT (non-Foundation Series) for over $114,000. The best part of the deal was the mileage: under 600 miles. So it’s almost new. But that doesn’t mean it makes sense. I still don’t understand what you get from a $114,000 CT that you can’t get from a $79,990 AWD CT from Tesla. I made that exact argument to the seller and his response was that the value is set by the market. (I’m waiting for a call for more clarification, but not holding my breath.)

Dealer #3: maybe I’m missing something

This was another low mileage (400 miles) AWD Cybertruck (non-Foundation Series). But the price is a deal breaker: nearly $100,000. Wait, am I missing something?

Dealer #4: “You can get it today”

This dealer’s argument is that “you can get it today.” So why wait a few weeks to get one delivered from Tesla for $79,990 when you can get this dealer’s CT for $104,000 right now? Oh, I forgot to mention that it has low mileage (under 5oo miles) so it’s almost new. Have you sold now?

Result:

I got the impression that dealers who are still selling used CTs at a premium will stick to the price as long as they have willing buyers and as long as the used market continues to dictate these values, however crazy they may be .