Post No: 36

 

Tesla has reversed its policy barring US customers from purchasing their leased vehicles at lease-end.

Originally introduced in 2019, the policy required customers to return leased cars so Tesla could use them as “robotaxis” in a planned self-driving ride-hailing network, which has yet to launch.

Instead of deploying these vehicles as robotaxis, Tesla sold off-lease cars to new buyers after adding costly software upgrades like “Full Self-Driving” and “acceleration boost.”

This strategy helped boost resale values but frustrated some lessees who felt misled about their cars’ fate.

The reversal comes amid falling used Tesla demand and lower resale prices in a more competitive EV market.

CarGurus data shows average used Tesla prices fell 7.6% in the past year, with Model Y prices down 14.1%.