How can something as seemingly new as a Tesla vehicle already be considered old?
As we near the three-year mark for those early-adopting Tesla lessees who have tired of their oh-so-2012 electric rides and seek a wow-look-at-me upgrade, Tesla has now entered the upper drawer of the traditionally sleazy used-car market, says the Wall Street Journal.
Electric-car maker has begun selling used versions of its Model S electric cars on its website, an important step for the luxury car maker as its business matures.
Its certified vehicle program, which Tesla launched without fanfare late last month, allows buyers to obtain Tesla’s cars at a lower price than its new vehicles, and comes with the manufacturer’s maintenance and reliability checks. Like other luxury car makers, Tesla offers a 4-year or 50,000-mile limited warranty on its used cars.
Why the big move by? Actually, the company has been in the junker, er, previously-owned automobile racket for a month or so, but the public has only started to pay notice this week, thanks in part to posts like this one:
The first batch of vehicles available for sale on the site are mostly cars whose owners swapped them for the all-wheel-drive Model S that went on sale late last year, a company spokeswoman said. Leased vehicles will begin to return to Tesla next year as the very first cars were sold in the middle of 2012 and leases began in early 2013 and generally were written for three years.
Used sales are important to Tesla to gain new customers, ensure residual values are stable and as a source of revenue.
And as a hungry and quickly growing startup, Tesla can always use more revenue.
Credit: Jim Gensheimer/Bay Area News Group/MCT
