Sold my Tesla last week and put the money toward a different EV - some thoughts on why

I made a similar move last spring, though for me it took longer to pull the trigger. I'd owned my car since 2020 and the driving experiance was honestly fine, but every news cycle made me cringe a little more. What finally did it was realizing I was making the loan payment on autopilot while quietly resenting the company. That felt dumb once I said it out loud to my wife. I traded mine in at a Kia dealer when I went to test drive an EV6, and honestly the trade number was lower than I'd have gotten selling it myself. I didn't care by that point, I just wanted it gone and the whole thing done in one afternoon. If I had been more patient I'd have listed it privately like you did, because the used market for those was still strong around here. One thing nobody warned me about was the charging routine. I'd been charging on the same schedule for years and switching brands meant learning a slightly diferent app and plug situation. Not a big deal, just an annoyance for the first couple weeks. Six months in, no regrets. The new car charges at home the same way, my commute costs basically the same, and I stopped dreading the news. That last part turned out to be worth more than I expected.

I went the other direction and kept mine. Bought a used Model 3 back in 2022, paid cash, and figured out pretty quickly that the money had allready left my account. Selling it now would just mean eating a few thousand in depreciation to make a statement to a company that would never notice. That math never worked for me personally, though I totally get why it does for other people.

What I did instead was stop feeding the ecosystem. Canceled the premium connectivity, stopped buying the accessories, charge on my own wall unit instead of the paid superchargers when I can. The car runs fine, my wife loves it for school runs, and honestly the biggest complaint is the paint chipping like nobody's business. I also stopped reading the news cycle, wich sounds like a cop out but it genuinely helped. My reasons for going electric were about the fuel savings and never visiting a gas station in winter again, and those reasons didn't change just beacuse the CEO turned into a walking controversy. I realize that's easier to say if the car isn't your identity, and for some folks it clearly is.

The used market angle matters too. If more people buy these second hand, the resale stays healthy and the original owner takes the hit instead of the company getting new sale money. Not saying that's the right call for everyone, it's just where I landed after doing my own accounting.

The guy who kept his paid-cash car has the right read on the math imo. I was in a similar spot, bought used years back, and selling just to prove a point would've cost me real money for zero effect. What I did instead was cancel my plan to ever buy from them again and tell my brother-in-law that when he asked. He ended up going with a different brand partly because of that conversation. Feels small but that's probaly how it actually adds up.

Timing worked out different for me. Was on a lease that ended this spring, so I just turned the keys in and walked. Cleanest exit possable, no selling hassle, no haggling. Only thing I'd flag for anyone else doing that: schedule the pickup inspection early, because the return slot filled up fast at the end of my term and I nearly ate a late fee. Picked up a certified used EV from a different maker right after. My question for the OP, how'd you handle the title transfer and payment with a private buyer? That part always spooks me more than the selling itself.

Still lurking here more than posting, so hope this is ok to jump in. My situation is kind of the pre-step to yours, I'm in a gas SUV with about a year left on the loan and I've been holding off going electric partly because of all this noise. Reading this thread actualy makes me think the smarter move is just waiting out my loan, then buying used from a brand I feel ok about, instead of trying to time everythign now. Does the used EV market where you are have decent options, or was it mostly one or two brands when you were looking?