Tesla trade-ins reach record high amid Musk’s slash-and-burn of federal government

Trade-ins of Tesla vehicles reportedly hit a record high this month as the brand faces off against an ever-growing field of EV competitors — and a fierce political backlash to CEO Elon Musk’s leading role in the Trump administration.

Teslas made up 1.4 percent of all trade-ins tracked through mid-March, according to data from Edmonds, a 0.4 percent rise from the same period a year ago. Buyers interest in Teslas on the Edmunds site, meanwhile, fell to 1.8 percent of searches, the lowest point since October of 2022, and a rapid decline from the brand’s 3.3 percent search share in November around the 2024 election.

"Brand loyalty is becoming a bigger question mark as factors such as Elon Musk's increasing public involvement in government, Tesla depreciation concerns and its increased saturation in major metro areas leave some longtime owners feeling disconnected from the brand," Edmunds' head of insights Jessica Caldwell said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch.

Tesla vehicles, dealerships, and charging stations have persistently been targets of protests and attacked since Donald Trump took office and made Musk a key partner overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative that has led to mass layoffs, budget cuts, and attempts to shutter multiple federal agencies.

Anonymous individuals have also created a website purporting to show the locations of Tesla facilities and individuals tied to DOGE. The cursor on the website is a Molotov cocktail.

During that same period, the brand has weathered a series of grim financials.

Tesla sales in Europe were reportedly down 45 percent year-over-year in January, and the company’s stock fell about $200 per share from a November peak, though it regained lost ground on Monday as shares jumped nearly 12 percent amid easing fears about tariffs.

Others pinned the Tesla trends not on politics, but on more EV options entering the marketplace.

“What we’re seeing in the marketplace is just fragmentation that is very normal, David Greene, an analyst with Cars.com, told The Washington Post. “Tesla enjoyed exclusivity and market dominance for quite a long time, but other automakers are getting into the EV space.”

Regardless of what’s driving the flagging interest in Tesla cars, federal officials are making it a priority to investigate the threats against the vehicles.

Attorney General Pam Bondi announced last week that the Justice Department is bringing “severe” charges against three individuals accused of targeting Teslas with arson attacks, following the White House’s vow to treat such incidents as domestic terrorism.

Federal officials have launched a terrorism taskforce to investigate the Tesla attacks.

Trump has taken things a step further, suggesting that those who target Teslas could be sent to a notorious Salvadoran prison at the center of the ongoing Venezuelan deportation flights lawsuit.

“I look forward to watching the sick terrorist thugs get 20-year jail sentences for what they are doing to Elon Musk and Tesla,” he said on social media. “Perhaps they could serve them in the prisons of El Salvador, which have become so recently famous for such lovely conditions!”

In addition to a focus from law enforcement officials on stopping violent incidents involving Teslas, the administration has taken some unusual steps to shore up customer support for Tesla as a company.

Trump held an event in front of the White House earlier this month with Musk with a suite of Tesla cars, where the president said he would be buying a Tesla in a show of solidarity with his billionaire adviser in the face of criticisms for his work in the administration.

“I’m going to buy because number one, it’s a great product,” Trump said at the event. “As good as it gets. Number two, because [Elon Musk] has devoted his energy and his life to doing this, and I think he has been treated unfairly.”

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also encouraged viewers during a recent Fox News interview to buy Tesla’s flagging stock.