Would you take this Cybertruck trade-in deal?
A Foundation Series Cybertruck owner is seeking answers after Tesla deducted trade-in value from his electric vehicle (EV), citing physical damage, as first reported by Torque News. The Cybertruck driver, Ace, posted on the model’s online forum: “If you wouldn’t mind sharing, how much was your trade value? Was there physical damage they deducted for? What was your mileage[?]” Ace added: “Mine has a little over 9k miles, and they offered me $66,900 and said they had identified ‘physical damage’ in my photos. I’m guessing this means the wrap? Just trying to figure out how big of an impact that is.”
The owner sought a trade-in appraisal to acquire a new Cybertruck, where he’d take advantage of the model’s current 0% APR with a Full Self-Driving (FSD) Supervised purchase and receive lifetime free Supercharging. Tesla had advertised the deal as expiring June 30, but the automaker is still promoting it on its website as of Tuesday, July 1.
Ace’s Cybertruck, initially priced at $99,990, contained magnetic stickers in addition to its wrap, as he later posted: “Giving up my aftermarket mods for that [0 % APR, Supercharger access] and will redo them. Sucks, I love my wrap, XPEL armor and fiber optic starlights. But I will love free SC [Supercharging] more. Everything else is transferable, so @CT_AZ_4x4 and I are going to skeletonize the blue truck today. S92 mirror, light bar, side steps, wheel caps, bed contents, molle panels, cybertent hardware, etc. They just sent me my trade offer, and it said they identified “physical damage” in my pictures, which probably means my wrap and lightbar. Offer was $66,500. What do we think? Try CarMax or just accept that?” Four members of the forum responded, with two recommending accepting the offer and the other two voting against. Ace later claimed that CarMax offered him $59,000. If Ace had taken Tesla’s trade-in offer, his Cybertruck, a Foundation Series model released in late November 2023, would have depreciated by 33.5%.
According to Lending Tree, a new car depreciates 20% on average after a year. Kelley Blue Book notes that new vehicles typically depreciate by about 30% over the first two years, with an additional 8-12% depreciation each subsequent year. Another Cybertruck owner on the forum (non-Foundation Series) said he sold his 2024 AWD model with 3,000 miles, FSD package, and black wrap to a dealer for $65,000. Tesla didn’t start accepting Cybertruck trade-ins until May, the same month that news emerged of Tesla sitting on over 10,000 unsold Cybertrucks worth about $800 million. In addition to a trade-in ban, Tesla also initially barred Cybertruck owners from selling the vehicle privately, but changed its policy to allow private sales in August.
Final thoughts
The Cybertruck’s significant trade-in depreciation is likely the result of Tesla overestimating demand and building too many units. While Cybertruck sales got off to a solid start, Tesla sold 40,000 examples in 2024, missing Wall Street’s expectations by about 10,000 units. Ford’s F-150 Lightning overtook the Cybertruck during Q1 this year to become America’s best-selling electric pickup.
