Tesla depreciation: how fast do Teslas lose value in the UK?

Teslas lose value quickly in the UK: a three-year-old Model 3 or Model Y is typically worth about half its original list price. On our figures, a 2023 Model Y Rear-Wheel Drive keeps about 52% of what it cost new, and a Model Y Long Range AWD about 47%.

Those numbers come from comparing the UK list price each car carried in 2023 with what the same cars sell for on a dealer forecourt today. They are well below the figures some valuation sites quote; EVTrader’s indicative curve, for example, has a Model Y keeping 74% after three years. The reasons for the gap are mostly down to Tesla’s own pricing.

How much does a Tesla lose in three years?

A 2023 Tesla has lost roughly half its list price by late 2026. We took every 2023 Model 3 and Model Y listed by the online retailer cinch on 1 November 2026 and set the median price against the list price after Tesla’s January 2023 cuts, as reported by Driving Electric.

Method: median cinch retail price on 1 November 2026, divided by the UK list price after the 13 January 2023 cuts.

Version (2023 registration)	2023 list price	Median retail price, 1 Nov 2026	Listings	Value kept
Model Y Rear-Wheel Drive	£44,990	£23,249	6	52%
Model Y Long Range AWD	£52,990	£24,999	5	47%
Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive	£42,990	£19,499	1	45%
Model 3 Performance	£57,990	£26,999	1	47%

The Model 3 rows rest on a single car each, so treat them as a guide rather than a firm figure. Mileages ranged from 6,414 to 71,359, and cinch’s prices include a £99 admin fee. Tesla moved its prices again later in 2023, so an individual car may have cost a little more or less than the figures above.

These are retail prices. If you are selling or part-exchanging, a dealer will offer less than this, because it needs room for preparation and profit.

How fast does the value fall after that?

The decline continues into the fourth year. Cinch listed ten 2022 Model Y Long Range AWD cars on the same day, at a median of £21,649. Against the £57,990 list price that applied before the January 2023 cut, that is about 37% kept after four years.

Put another way, the 2023 Long Range car has lost about £28,000 in three years (£52,990 minus £24,999), which is roughly £9,330 a year. The 2023 Model Y RWD has lost about £21,740, or about £7,250 a year (£604 a month). On a Tesla, depreciation is by far the largest cost of ownership. Our guide to the cost of charging a Tesla shows home charging at 8p/kWh on Intelligent Octopus Go runs to a small fraction of that.

Why do Teslas depreciate so fast?

Three things explain most of it.

Tesla cuts new car prices sharply. On 13 January 2023 Tesla took £7,000 off the entry Model Y, £5,000 off the Long Range and £8,000 off the Performance, and between £3,500 and £6,500 off the Model 3 range. Every used car was worth less the next morning. Data from cap hpi, reported by Automotive Fleet, showed three-year-old Model 3 values falling 9.6%, about £3,000, that month, and year-old Model Y values falling 5.9%.

Cheaper new versions undercut used ones. The facelifted Model 3 arrived in October 2023 at £39,990, a further £3,000 cut (Notebookcheck), and the Model 3 now starts at £37,990 according to Carwow in November 2026. That is £5,000 below what a 2023 Model 3 RWD cost, which caps what anyone will pay for a used one. The Model Y has fared better partly because its entry price is £44,990 in November 2026 (Carwow), the same as in 2023.

Cars arrive in batches. Automotive Fleet noted that Tesla delivers heavily at the end of each quarter, so ex-fleet cars return to the used market in waves. Many carry big mileages: four of the eleven 2023 Model Y cars on cinch’s list had covered more than 60,000 miles.

Do Teslas hold their value worse in the UK than elsewhere?

Yes. When Autovista measured residuals in early 2023, the Model Y kept 55% of its value in the UK after three years and 40,000 miles, against 67% in France and 64% in Germany, according to InsideEVs. Even so, the Model Y won Autovista’s residual value award for its class that year, which says as much about how other electric SUVs were doing as about the Tesla.

Our 2026 figure of 52% for the Model Y RWD is close to that 55%, so the UK picture has not changed much in three years.

How much does mileage affect a used Tesla’s value?

A great deal. Two 2023 Model Y RWD cars on cinch’s list on 1 November 2026 show the spread:

Mileage	Retail price	Share of £44,990 list price
6,414	£25,999	58%
69,582	£20,699	46%

That is £5,300, or 12% of the original price, for about 63,000 extra miles. Battery health also affects what a car is worth; see our guide on how to check an electric car’s battery before buying used.

Are used Tesla prices rising or falling now?

Prices have steadied after the falls of 2023. On 1 November 2026, CarGurus put the average used Model 3 at £20,468, up 10.66% on a year earlier, and the average Model Y at £24,991, up 1.69%. That fits the wider market: used EV values have been rising as fuel prices climb, as covered in our report on used EV values in October 2026.

That does not undo the earlier losses. A buyer who paid £52,990 for a Model Y Long Range in 2023 is still looking at a car worth less than half that.

What does this mean if you are buying a Tesla?

Steep early depreciation is bad news for the first owner and good news for the second.

• Buying new with cash: budget for losing about half the price in three years. On our figures the Model Y RWD (52% kept) has held value better than the Long Range (47%), so the cheaper car makes more sense if residuals matter to you. Our guide to which Tesla to buy compares the current range.
• Buying new on finance: on PCP or a lease, the lender sets the end value and carries the risk if prices fall further. Our guide to Tesla PCP finance shows how that guaranteed value shapes the monthly payment.
• Buying used: a three-year-old Model Y RWD at around £23,000 costs roughly half its 2023 price, because the first owner has already absorbed about £21,700 of depreciation. Our used Tesla Model Y buying guide covers what to check.

The single biggest risk for any Tesla owner remains a fresh round of new car price cuts. Tesla has made them before with no warning, and each one feeds straight through to used values.