AUSTIN, Texas–Tesla, which required those leasing their vehicles to turn them in at the end of the lease because it said it wanted the vehicles for its “Robotaxi” fleet, instead sold those cars at inflated prices, according to a new report.
Unlike most leases which allow the lease-holder to purchase the vehicle at the end of the term, Tesla previously did not offer the option. According to Reuters, Tesla ended its policy in November of 2024 after putting it in place for those leasing its Model 3 in 2019, and then expanding the policy to all its cars in 2022.
But rather than sit on inventory of cars for a “Robotaxi” fleet that, to date, hasn’t materialized, Reuters reported it added software-based upgrades to the cars and sold them for a profit. One of the anonymous sources who revealed the practice to Reuters said it was an easy way to “jack up the prices” on the used market.
Not Illegal, But…
Reuters noted the practice is not illegal, just misleading to lessors, and to investors. The report suggested that Tesla’s claim it was about to imminently deploy a fleet of self-driving cars helped push it to become the world’s most valuable automaker.
“But this policy nearly hoisted Tesla by its own petard, as sales of its new cars and values of its used cars are falling in the U.S. thanks to Musk’s foray into politics,” Reuters noted.
Edmunds analyst Joseph Yoon told Reuters he suspects Tesla ended the policy so it wouldn’t “caught holding the bag.”
