When it comes to luxury car brands like Porsche, which offer carefully curated “premium” models that can become excellent investments without waiting to become collector’s items, what about Tesla?
### An Unusually Unplanned Obsolescence
If you don’t want to wait for the future Tesla Roadster – expected to be released around 2025 with a base price of €175,000 and available for reservation with a deposit of €43,000, you can opt for the first version. A rare model launched in 2008, it was Tesla’s very first creation.
Back then, electric vehicles were not as advanced as they are today. The new roadster boasts an incredible torque of 10,000 Nm, a range of 1,000 km, and accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.1 seconds. The 2008 Tesla Roadster, based on a Lotus Elise, had 292 hp, a range of 380 km, and accelerated from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds, values that still hold up well today.
### Nearly €150,000 for a 15-year-old Tesla…
An example from 2009, with 74,647 km on the clock and a valid inspection until May 2025, is now priced at €148,500. At the launch in 2008, the list price was $100,000, approximately €64,000 at the time.
But why has the price of this model risen so much? The answer lies in its rarity – this is a limited edition called Signature Edition, with only 100 units in the US and 250 in Europe. This particular one is number 112 out of 250.
### What about Classic Teslas?
If you own a more classic Tesla vehicle (Model 3, Model Y, Model S, or Model X), it’s unlikely that you will make a profit on it. Electric vehicles generally lose much of their value over time. The battery’s autonomy and charge retention are not guaranteed, and replacing the battery pack, which significantly affects the car’s value, inevitably impacts its resale value.
Performance becomes obsolete faster than in a traditional vehicle. The significant price variations on new Tesla vehicles also do not help. Resale values are consequently revised downwards. Other than the Roadster, none of the subsequent Teslas have innovated in any significant way – they have merely contributed to the market, reassuring users more through an adequate ecosystem (like Superchargers) than by revolutionizing a genre or technology.