Tesla ends ‘Resale Value Guarantee’ on new vehicle purchases

Tesla has ended its Resale Value Guarantee program for cars purchased after July 1st, a company spokesperson has confirmed to The Verge. The program guaranteed the resale value of a Tesla Model S after three years when purchased through one of the company’s loan financing programs.

The resale value was calculated as 50 percent of the base purchase price of an entry-level Model S plus 43 percent of the value of all options added to the vehicle, including larger batteries. An update to the program guaranteed that the value of a Model S would remain higher than that of competing BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Lexus, and Jaguar models.

The program was initiated to reassure early buyers of the Model S that there would be a market for resale of the vehicles. In general, buyers of premium automobiles upgrade to newer models within a few years, making resale value an important consideration to purchasers. The program was “backed personally” by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, according to a Tesla blog post about the program, giving owners “complete peace of mind about the long term value of the product.”

“We have discontinued the Resale Value Guarantee program as of July 1 so that we can keep interest rates as low as possible and offer a compelling Lease and Loan program to customers,” said a Tesla spokesperson in a statement. “We will continue to support customers currently financed through the RVG program.”