--- title: "Tesla Quietly Starts Taking Cybertruck Trade-Ins and Confirms What We All Know" date: "2025-05-19" modified: "2025-05-19" authors: - name: "Adam Ismail" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/adam-ismail" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/tesla-quietly-starts-taking-cybertruck-as-a-trade-in-and-confirms-what-we-all-know" categories: - "News" - "News by Brand" - "Tesla News" tags: - "Cybertruck" - "Electric Vehicle" - "pickup" - "Tesla" --- # Tesla Quietly Starts Taking Cybertruck Trade-Ins and Confirms What We All Know ![A Tesla Cybertruck is parked on a street and a red downward arrow is superimposed over it.]() *\Chris Jung/NurPhoto, The Drive\* [Tesla Cybertruck]() owners hoping to trade their vehicles in for one of the automaker's other products have found the company unwilling to play along in recent months. For the stainless steel EV's earliest adopters, this was predictable; Foundation Series reservation holders had to agree [to a clause]() forbidding them from selling their vehicles for a year. But Tesla's reluctance to accept Cybertruck trade-ins has persisted well beyond that, until it seemingly ended last week. Two owners have shared the automaker's offers for their Foundation Series trucks that cost $99,990 when new, and they indicate that there was a pretty good reason why Tesla was avoiding this until now. One owner, who posted a screenshot of their offer on the [Cybertruck Owners Club forum](), noted that Tesla returned a trade-in estimate of $65,400 for their example with just 6,211 miles recorded. Another, who drove their 2024 Cybertruck more than 32,000 miles since taking delivery, was offered $60,500. On the surface, this is pretty alarming depreciation; these Cybertrucks cost about $100,000 when new, and they've already lost around 35% to 40% in value. There are a few additional factors to consider for these particular cases. The owner of the lower-mileage vehicle said they received a $7,500 commercial EV federal tax credit with their purchase. Ordinarily, that rebate wouldn't apply to a Cybertruck Foundation Series because its MSRP was above $80,000, but vehicles purchased for business aren't subject to that cap. Second, the screenshots of both orders stipulate that the owners may transfer their Full Self-Driving (Supervised) subscriptions, which came with their trucks, to their new Tesla vehicles. FSD costs $8,000 as of this writing, but since these owners would be selling to and buying from Tesla, the company may have worked that into its own estimates. ![Tesla Cybertruck electric vehicles sit parked in a storage lot in San Diego, California on April 11, 2025.]() *Tesla Cybertrucks sit parked in a storage lot in San Diego, California on April 11, 2025. *Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images** Still, whatever incentives [Tesla]() may have offered upon sale don't change the fact that these were effectively $100,000 vehicles with no tax rebate available to personal buyers. The barely-used one has sunk by $34,590 in about 18 months, while the other vehicle, which has obviously been driven much harder, has lost $39,490. Remember that Tesla CEO Elon Musk once famously predicted that his company's vehicles would become "appreciating assets" because of their [autonomous future-proofing](). It's reasonable to guess that part of the steep decline may have something to do with Tesla's current trouble selling Cybertrucks. As of today, the inventory tracking website [Tesla-info]() reports that there are 4,322 unsold Cybertrucks already manufactured and waiting to be sold to buyers in the United States. Tesla would likely rather shift those than take in additional stock. On top of that, Tesla could've been turning away owners because it didn't want to eat that huge drop in value. And you've got to imagine that selling new Cybertrucks to the public becomes an even harder task once potential buyers learn how much they could stand to lose in a year. Setting all that aside (we haven't even touched on the monumental impact of Tesla's flagging popularity), electric pickups are hardly stellar at holding their value in the first place. [Kelley Blue Book predicts]() that a 2024 F-150 Lightning Platinum—the most expensive trim Ford sells—with 5,000 miles would lose $30,707 in a year against its $87,090 starting price. That's a 36% drop. One 2024 Lariat in Pennsylvania with 7,608 miles cost at least $79,000 when it was new, and [it's now listed at $62,500](). Twenty-ish percent is certainly better, but don't forget—that's what a dealer is trying to sell the truck for, not what it's worth. [This practically new 2024 Chevrolet Silverado RST]() is going for $76,995, even though it would've cost around $96,500 new. As for Cybertruck owners, those who are suffering but would prefer to stick with Tesla now have a way out. It may not be the investment some of them hoped it would be, but then [the]() [reality]() of the Cybertruck owner experience has proven to be quite different from the [hype](). *Got tips? Send ’em to tips@thedrive.com* ## Author Adam is a Senior Editor at The Drive, concentrating on curating and developing the site's slate of daily journalism, from initial pitch to final copy edit. When he's not at his desk researching leads and working with writers, he's testing vehicles or reviewing racing games, new and old. He joined The Drive in 2023, following seven years of covering consumer technology and cars. A car lover and gamer since his earliest memories, Adam came to know the automotive world through video games. First it was Daytona USA, Sega Rally, and Ridge Racer; then came Need For Speed, which inspired an encyclopedic knowledge of '90s supercars, and, of course, Gran Turismo. If not for them, he'd assuredly be doing something else right now. Adam is based in the suburbs outside Philly, where there are ample roads for his hot hatch to stretch its legs. In his car, he's probably listening to indie rock, drum and bass, or Yankees baseball. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()