How car buyers can find value in the used electric vehicle market
For those in the market for a used electric car, you may find good value by looking beyond Teslas.
- Tesla officials are touting their electric vehicles as bargains as consumers worry about car and gas prices.
- The company produced more than 50,000 more vehicles than it sold in the first quarter of 2026.
- Tesla’s average new car price was slightly below the industry average for electric vehicles in early 2026.
As Tesla officials tout the value of their electric vehicles, consumers are increasingly concerned about car and gas prices.
“On the automotive side, I think it’s always worth noting that Tesla cars are an incredible value for money, and depending on which part of the world you live in, they’re all self-driving,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk told investors as the company announced its first-quarter results on Wednesday, April 22.
Tesla Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja added that Tesla’s value allows it to take advantage of the surge in interest in electric vehicles that has occurred since gasoline prices soared at the outbreak of the U.S.-Iranian war.
“In terms of backlog, we ended the quarter with the highest first-quarter backlog in two years,” Musk said. “While the recent increase in gas prices has had a positive impact on order rates, this improvement predates the upward trend in gas prices and is due to the Tesla team’s commitment to bringing more attractive and affordable vehicles to market.”
The comments come as Tesla recently revealed that production will far exceed sales in the first quarter of 2026, leaving more than 50,000 unsold EVs sitting idle.
The country’s largest electric vehicle retailer reported that it produced 408,386 vehicles worldwide in the first three months of 2026, according to a report released by the company on April 2. However, the company said it only sold 358,023 of those units in the first three months of 2026.
The comments also came as the average price of gasoline on Friday, April 24th was $4.05 per gallon, down slightly from the average price of $4.07 per gallon on April 17th.
What is the average price for a new Tesla? How does it compare to other EV manufacturers?
The average price of a new Tesla EV in the first three months of 2026 was $53,421, according to Kelley Blue Book.
According to Kelley Blue Book, the average price of a new electric vehicle during the same period was $54,508.
Telsa’s average price in March was 2.6% lower than the average transaction value in March 2025 and 1.2% lower than Tesla’s average price in February, the group said.
Cox said Tesla’s price was supported by an increase in the average incentive amount of approximately $6,570.78, representing 12.3% of the overall average transaction price. The average incentive amount for other electric vehicles in March was $7,958.16, which was 14.6% of the overall average price of a new EV.
Tesla Chief Financial Officer Taneja said Tesla is ramping up production of the Model 3 sedan because it offers incredible value for electric car buyers.
“Ten years ago, when we launched the Model 3 in the U.S., we promised a starting price of $35,000. Adjusted for inflation, that’s about $48,000 in today’s dollars,” Taneja said on an April 22 conference call. “Today’s starting price for Model 3 is much lower than that, but the product is much more attractive from the beginning. Given the setup, we are focused on increasing our overall production, and this has already started in the first quarter.”
How many unsold EVs does Tesla have?
A deal is likely possible because Tesla produced 50,363 more electric vehicles than it could sell in the first three months of 2026, even as rising gas prices revealed a slight uptick in interest in EVs.
According to a report released by Tesla on April 2nd, 408,386 cars were produced worldwide in the first three months of 2026. However, the company said it sold only 358,023 units in the first quarter.
The difference between Tesla’s production and sales levels is much larger than the 16,131-unit difference between the 434,358 electric vehicles and 418,227 electric vehicle sales the company reported in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Tesla announced that it produced 1,654,667 EVs and sold 1,636,129 EVs in all of 2025, a difference of 18,538 EVs over the past year.
