Tesla owners are feeling the wrath of many people over Elon Musk’s political transformation and it appears a number of them have had enough. That’s according to new data, which has shown a surge in trade-ins.

Citing Edmunds data, Reuters is reporting that “Tesla cars from model year 2017 or newer accounted for 1.4% of all the vehicles traded in until March 15.” That’s up from 0.4% last year and marks a significant increase.

More: Used EV Prices Are Crashing and Tesla’s Leading the Way Down

CNBC noted this is a record level of Tesla trade-ins towards vehicles from other brands. So what’s behind the increase? There’s likely a variety of factors at play, including new competitors in the EV space.

Of course, there’s little doubt that Musk’s close association to President Trump and his status as de facto leader of the Department of Government Efficiency is also playing a role. Sheryl Crow famously ditched her Tesla and said “There comes a time when you have to decide who you are willing to align with.”

Attacks on Tesla dealerships have been grabbing headlines and U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi recently stated that “If you join this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties, the Department of Justice will put you behind bars.” However, Tesla owners have also been targeted by hate.

Multiple owners have reported being flipped off or sworn at, while other cases are far more serious. These involve actual vandalism, which can range from vehicles getting keyed to set on fire.

More: Hundreds Of Tesla EVs Pile Up In Canadian Parking Lots After Suspicious Sales Rush

Regardless of what’s behind the shift, Edmunds’ Jessica Caldwell said the change in “Tesla consumer sentiment could create an opportunity for legacy automakers and EV startups to gain ground.” In essence, those turned off by Musk could replace their EVs with models from competitors – which might be good news for the latter, but obviously not for Tesla which is not in the best of shapes when it comes to sales lately.

While you’ve been trying to keep your finances from going off the rails, luxury vehicles are having their moment again. Cox Automotive’s latest Kelley Blue Book report a rather surprising uptick in the number of people splurging on vehicles that cost six-figures.

If you’ve ever wondered just how deep some pockets are these days, prepare for a shock: luxury cars are flying off dealer lots, and you might feel a little behind if you don’t have at least $100K to throw down on a new ride.

More: Don’t Have $100K? Here Are 10 Cars That Will Make You Look Like A Million Bucks For Toyota Camry Money

In the first two months of 2025 alone, over 52,000 new vehicles priced above $100,000 were delivered in the USA. That’s an impressive 13% increase from the 46,000 sold last year, and a mind-boggling 333% spike compared to just five years ago, when only 12,000 six-figure cars were sold. So, it’s safe to say that many people aren’t just fantasizing about luxury anymore- they’re actually buying it.

Range Rover Leads the Pack

So, who’s winning the battle for six-figure supremacy? Somewhat surprisingly, the undisputed champion for 2025 is the Range Rover, which saw over 3,800 monthly sales in February alone. It seems that the British brand has secured its spot as the crown jewel of the six-figure crowd.

Erin Keating, an Executive Analyst at Cox Automotive, offered some perspective on the trend: “While affordability is a challenge for many households, six-figure vehicles continue to sell well and have experienced a four-fold increase in sales volume since early 2020.”

Keating also noted that the widening income gap is significantly influencing new vehicle sales trends, with high-income households and individuals with “prime” or “super prime” credit scores fueling much of the demand.

NEW-VEHICLE AVERAGE TRANSACTION PRICE

A Look at Average Transaction Prices

Now, let’s talk numbers, and specifically, the Average Transaction Price (ATP) for new vehicles. In February 2025, the Average Transaction Price (ATP) for a new vehicle was $48,039. That’s a 1.3% dip from January but still a 1% increase compared to the same time last year.

If you’re wondering which segments are pushing those ATPs above the $100K mark, look no further than the usual suspects: luxury full-size SUVs ($106,332), high-end luxury cars ($121,129), and high-performance vehicles ($121,322), all showing year-over-year growth. No surprises there, right?

Car Brands: Who’s Winning?

On the luxury brand front, Porsche takes the top spot with an ATP of $116,111 in February, which is 12% higher than last year. At the other end of the spectrum, Mitsubishi took the prize for the lowest ATP at $30,410, with Nissan not far behind at $32,262. So if you’ve been eyeing a luxury SUV or sports car, you now know who’s at the top of the price ladder.

More: Porsche May Add Another Gas-Powered SUV Next To Macan EV, Cayenne

For those who prefer a quieter ride with zero tailpipe emissions, electric vehicles are also in the mix. The average ATP for EVs in February stood at $55,273, down 1.2% from January but still up 3.7% from last year. EV incentives also saw a substantial rise, reaching an average of $8,162, the highest it’s been in over five years.

Keating also reflected on how much the overall automotive landscape has changed, noting, “February marks the five-year anniversary of the last ‘clean month’ of data prior to the global COVID pandemic that shifted the automotive landscape. Compared to February 2020, ATP is up 25% while incentives are down 13% and monthly sales are down 9%. Auto loan rates are higher now as well, making new-vehicle affordability a real challenge for most households.”

Average Transaction Prices Feb 2025 vs 2024

ATP VS INDUSTRY AVERAGE INCENTIVE SPEND AS % OF ATP

Lead image Urban Automotive

Elon Musk may have mastered the art of staying in headlines, but lately, not all press has been good press—especially if you’re trying to sell electric cars. While his public image in the US has taken a noticeable hit, things have turned downright bleak for Musk in Germany.

More: Musk Appeals For $56 Billion Tesla Payday, As Firing Thousands Just Doesn’t Pay Enough

Tesla’s sales there have nosedived, and to make matters worse, Musk’s appearance at Donald Trump’s January inauguration, complete with what many interpreted as a Nazi-like salute, has ignited fierce backlash to both the man and the brand across the country. Now, a new study lays bare just how deep Tesla’s troubles in Germany run.

The huge survey, carried out by German publication T-Online, polled around 100,000 readers and revealed that 94% of respondents wouldn’t touch a Tesla. Just 3% said they’d even consider one. It’s the kind of result that might make even the most confident CEO reconsider their strategy—or at least their social media posts.

Tesla’s Decline in Germany

Many had long expected Tesla’s dominance over the EV market to slowly fade as legacy car manufacturers got their act together and launched their own EVs. However, it hasn’t really been legacy brands that have Tesla quaking in its boots, but rather newer car companies from China, including BYD. In addition, Elon Musk’s foray into politics in the United States has hampered sentiment in Tesla.

Read: Activists Project ‘Heil Tesla’ Onto Musk’s Own German Gigafactory

It’s not just Musk’s involvement in US politics that’s hurting Tesla. Prior to Germany’s federal election in February, Musk threw his support behind the far-right AfD party or Alternative for Germany. Musk’s questionable antics have also continued online, and last week, he reposted a tweet on X proclaiming that, “Stalin, Mao and Hitler didn’t murder millions of people,” but rather, “their public sector workers did.”

Sales Slump Despite EV Market Recovery

If Tesla plans to regain footing in Germany, it has some serious damage control to do. Sales figures paint a stark picture: across January and February, Tesla sales dropped over 70%, even as Germany’s broader EV market bounced back from a sluggish 2024.

Much of Tesla’s hopes now rest on its updated Model Y. Borrowing design cues from the angular Cybertruck and futuristic Cybercab, the refreshed Model Y aims to deliver better efficiency, improved refinement, and a more polished driving experience.

On paper, it’s positioned to be one of the most well-rounded EVs available, but whether German buyers are ready to overlook Musk’s controversies and give it a chance is another question entirely.

If you’re in the market for a used car, there’s some good news as a study found the average price of a 1- to 5-year-old used vehicle is $31,257. That’s down $239 from a year ago, which equates to a modest drop of 0.8%.

However, if you’re in the market for an EV, it’s time to pop the bubbly. According to iSeeCars’ latest study, the price of a late model used electric vehicle plummeted 15.1% from a year ago.

More: Global EV Sales Projected To Rise 30% In 2025

That means the average 1- to 5-year-old EV costs $32,198. That’s $5,709 less than last year and is just slightly more than the $31,281 average price of a gas-powered model.

Tesla was the big loser as their average used vehicle price dropped to $31,733, which was a decline of $5,013 or 13.6%. Maserati posted a larger price drop of $5,208 but that’s only down 10.6% from a year ago. Chrysler finished off the loser’s podium as their used vehicles lost $2,058 or 7.6% compared to last year.

Top 10 Brands With the Largest Price Drops

iSeeCars blamed the steep Tesla declines on a variety of factors including new vehicle price drops, an aging product lineup, and stalling demand for new and used EVs. It’s also worth mentioning that Elon Musk’s political transformation appears to have alienated some customers and put owners in the crosshairs, limiting Tesla’s appeal.

That being said, “used car prices have largely stabilized.” This includes EVs, to an extent, as “used electric vehicle pricing was dropping around 30% every month in the first half of 2024, but over the past six months it’s been down between 15% and 20%.” That’s far from good, but things are improving.

For comparison, used gasoline and hybrid vehicle prices were only down 0.5% from a year ago. That equates to a mere $160.

Change in 1- to 5-Year-Old Used Car Prices by Powertrain 2025 vs. 2024

Given this, iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer said “It’s not easy to find a great deal in today’s used car market, but if an electric vehicle can serve your personal transportation needs, most used models have dropped substantially in cost over the past year, especially compared to gas and hybrid models.”

Unfortunately, the future looks grim as Brauer stated “There’s no indication prices will drop from their current levels throughout 2025 and, with tariffs looming, the price of both new and used cars could potentially rise.”

That’s a bit of a bummer, but you can save money by picking certain vehicles. The BMW 5-Series Hybrid, Porsche Taycan, and Tesla Model S saw the biggest price drops. The Taycan, in particular, was down a staggering 26.5% ($26,626) from a year ago. Of course, you’d still be looking at spending $73,976 for a used one.

Top 10 Used Cars With the Largest Price Drops

---

Used EVs With the Largest Price Drops

---

Used Hybrid Pricing

As electric vehicles continue to gain traction on U.S. roads, their crash claims are rising right along with them. According to collision management software provider Mitchell, the US recorded 38% more claims for battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) in 2024 compared to 2023. This surge isn’t exactly shocking, given the growing popularity of fully electric cars. However, it does highlight just how much more expensive these vehicles are to repair.

Rising EV Collision Claims

The study revealed that EVs accounted for 2.71% of all claims in the States in 2024, marking a 38% increase over the previous year. In Canada, the percentage was slightly higher at 3.84%, reflecting a 34% year-over-year jump. These figures are another indication of the rapid growth in EV adoption across North America.

More: EVs Cost 20% More To Repair After Collisions Than ICE Cars

In fact, according to Argonne National Laboratory and Electric Autonomy, there are over 100 different EV models sold in the U.S. and 75 in Canada, with dozens more expected by the end of this year. It’s clear that electric cars are here to stay, and they’re crashing just as often as their gas-guzzling counterparts.

In terms of total loss frequency, EVs experienced a jump from 8% in 2023 to 10.2% in 2024. Mitchell noted that this 2% rise in write-offs was consistent across all vehicle powertrains in America, primarily due to a spike in catastrophic claims during the latter half of 2024.

Tesla Leads the Pack in Claims Frequency

Unsurprisingly, Tesla models dominate the EV crash claim stats. The Model Y and Model 3 topped the charts in the US, with claim frequencies of 31.43% and 29.86% respectively. Together, these two models accounted for more than 60% of the claims for collision-damaged repairable EVs in 2024.

When you factor in the Model S (5.53%) and the Model X (4.58%), Tesla’s share of the total climbs to a hefty 71.4%. The only non-Tesla BEV to crack the top five was the Ford Mustang Mach-E, which saw a claim frequency of 6.37%.

More: Guess How Much It Costs To Repair This Rivian R1T?

Tesla’s dominance isn’t surprising, given the sheer volume of Model Ys and Model 3s on the road. The more cars there are, the greater the likelihood of accidents, and Tesla has more than its fair share of both.

What About The Repair Costs?

Mitchell’s study also revealed the average repair costs for collision-damaged vehicles in 2024, highlighting the stark difference between EVs and traditional internal combustion engines. Electric cars proved to be the most expensive to repair, with an average claim severity of $6,236 in the US, marking a 3% decrease compared to 2023. For reference, ICE vehicles came in at a lower average of $5,066.

However, when we look only at newer ICE models ($6,127), their repair costs begin to rival those of electric cars. This is due to the increased complexity of newer ICE cars, which translates into higher repair costs.

Average Repair Costs (2024)

There are, of course, outliers. Take Rivian, for instance, where owners have frequently voiced frustration over absurdly high repair costs for what are often relatively minor damages – a topic we’ve revisited more than once on these pages.

More: Rivian Owner’s Quality And Service Nightmares Expose The Pain Of Being A ‘Beta Tester’

Mitchell also pointed out that EV values have been declining faster than other powertrain types. This drop in value is linked to factors such as reduced manufacturing costs, the increasing age of these vehicles, and consumer concerns over battery health, especially in used models. As a result, the average total loss market value for EVs dropped significantly in 2024, falling to $33,346 in the U.S. (-22%) and $40,203 in Canada (-18.5%).