Man who bought Tesla for $140,000 is stunned after learning what it’s worth two years on

A YouTuber has received a lot of attention on social media after sharing the stunning depreciation of his Tesla vehicle.

Back in 2022, Kyle Conner shelled out a cool $140,000 for a brand-new Tesla Model S.

A man has shared how much his Tesla has depreciated in just two years. Credit: Justin Sullivan / Getty

Fast forward to two years later, and the YouTube sensation behind Out of Spec Reviews shared just how much his electric dream machine was then worth.

Sharing a breakdown of his original vehicle costs on X, the base price for the Model S Plaid set him back $135,990 - with Conner paying an extra $3,500 for his color preferences and $1,450 in additional fees - totaling a whopping $140,940.

However, in a tweet shared on October 27, 2024, Conner revealed that he had his Tesla appraised by the very company that built it.

When the valuation came back, it was a mere $46,400 after just 37,000 miles on the odometer. That’s a staggering $94,000 drop — 67% of its original sticker price, gone in just two years!

He wrote alongside the screenshots: "Depreciation."

Conner's tweet was analyzed by auto enthusiast and TikToker Chris Pearce (@thechristopherpearce), who broke down the jaw-dropping numbers.

Pearce highlighted that even reputable sites like Edmunds or Consumer Reports couldn’t peg the Tesla's worth over $59,000.

He compared this to a 2022 BMW M5 CS, another high-performance sedan that barely dipped $10,000 in the same timeframe, underlining just how precipitous the Tesla's value drop was.

"I did us all a favor and found a comparable gas to compare the depreciation," Pearce said. "The BMW M5 CS came out in 2022, the same year, for around $140,000 — the exact same price.

"It’s not a perfect comparison, but they’re both saloon-performance sedans. If you go on any of those sites I mentioned, you can buy the M5 CS for $140,000 today. Meaning this car has depreciated maybe $10,000."

Adding insult to injury, Pearce shared a report by Diminishing Value Carolina, revealing that Tesla vehicles depreciate 70 times faster than Chevrolet models. The study also showed that while brands like GMC and Porsche maintained value, luxury names like Alfa Romeo and Maserati plummeted, closely trailing Tesla.

Now, I'm not one to poke fun. I drive a $9,000 second-hand Ford Fiesta with a busted tail light.

But people were quick to comment on Pearce's video, with one person sarcastically writing: "Yeah but he saved like $5000 on oil and fuel. That should make up the difference."

Another added: "It's almost like they were never worth $140k."

One harsh TikToker wrote: "If you can afford a $140k+ car, then you can afford the depreciation."

Others described the depreciation as "diabolical".

Amidst the uproar, Conner has once again taken to X to lament the focus on his financial misfortune over his positive reviews of other Tesla models, hinting at a media bias against the brand.

"We posted the most glowing review possible of the new Long Range RWD Model 3… nobody shared," he wrote. "I posted two screen shots about a Model S with a single word 'depreciation' and everyone writes about it

"Huge Tesla hate bias in the media."

Responding to his criticism, one X user pointed out: "I'm sorry, but one of those things is literally shocking while the other is just another refresh. I didn't get how you can't see why one was more popular. I guess you can choose to decide it's bias, but I find $100K of depreciation in two years to be much more surprising."

Featured image credit: Justin Sullivan / Getty