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Used Tesla Model 3 prices are rising in the UK
Second-hand Tesla Model 3 prices in the United Kingdom are rising as demand for Tesla’s vehicles increases.
Recently, Teslarati talked with Vantage Leasing, which put the Tesla Model 3’s performance in the UK’s used car market into perspective. According to on-hand data based on UK banks, the residual value of Tesla Model 3 sedans has increased as a whole.
From December 2020 to July 2021, used Tesla Model 3 prices have increased. For example, the residual value of a Model 3 Standard Range Plus in December 2020 was estimated to be around £9,005.71 ($12,475.87). At the time, the base Model 3 cost £40,490 ($56,091.99) before savings.
By July 2021, the residual value for a base Model 3 was calculated to be about £12,681.35 (17,567.85), a significant hike from its value seven months prior. As of this writing, the base price for the Model 3 SR+ is £40,990 ($56,784.65) before savings, a little higher than in December 2020.
The Model 3 Dual Motor AWD Long Range and Performance variants followed similar trends. In December 2020, the residual value of the Model 3 Performance was estimated to be £15,185.11 ($21,036.38), while the Model 3 Long Range Dual Motor had a residual value of £13,832.48 ($19,162.54). By July 2021, the residual values of both the Model 3 Performance and Model 3 Long Range went up to a little above £16,000 ($22,165.27).
Tesla priced the Model 3 Long Range at £46,990 ($65,096.63) and the Model 3 Performance at £56,990 ($78,949.92) in December 2020. Currently, the Long Range variant costs £48,490 ($67,174.62) while the Performance costs £59,990 ($83,105.91). The Long Range and Performance variants are produced in the USA, while the base Model 3 is exported from Tesla’s Gigafactory Shanghai in China.
-->The chart above shows that the resale values of the base Model 3 and the Long Range variant are steadily increasing over time. The resale value of the Long Range, in particular, seems to be on par with the Performance variant for the last couple of months.
Since the beginning of 2021, Tesla has steadily increased Giga Shanghai’s Model 3 exports to Europe. Tesla also released the Model 3 refresh last year, featuring some adjustments to the sedan’s overall design.
As some Tesla owners upgrade to newer Model 3s, the older sedans enter the used car market, where there appears to be plenty of demand for Tesla’s vehicles. The amount of consumers switching from petrol to electric vehicles also adds to the used electric vehicle market.
The prices of all-electric vehicles are still too high for most people in certain countries. Second-hand EVs make electric cars more affordable.
In general, Tesla seems to be making room for itself in the global used car market. Countries like the United States and Canada are already mulling over incentives for used electric vehicles.
In the UK, the government offers home charging grants for buyers who purchase new or used plug-in vehicles. Unfortunately, there are no grants for used EVs, but some retailers and organizations have recommended introducing subsidies for second-hand EVs to the British government.
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News
Tesla sees sharp November rebound in China as Model Y demand surges
New data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) shows a 9.95% year-on-year increase and a 40.98% jump month-over-month.
Tesla’s sales momentum in China strengthened in November, with wholesale volumes rising to 86,700 units, reversing a slowdown seen in October.
New data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) shows a 9.95% year-on-year increase and a 40.98% jump month-over-month. This was partly driven by tightened delivery windows, targeted marketing, and buyers moving to secure vehicles before changes to national purchase tax incentives take effect.
Tesla’s November rebound coincided with a noticeable spike in Model Y interest across China. Delivery wait times extended multiple times over the month, jumping from an initial 2–5 weeks to estimated handovers in January and February 2026 for most five-seat variants. Only the six-seat Model Y L kept its 4–8 week estimated delivery timeframe.
The company amplified these delivery updates across its Chinese social media channels, urging buyers to lock in orders early to secure 2025 delivery slots and preserve eligibility for current purchase tax incentives, as noted in a CNEV Post report. Tesla also highlighted that new inventory-built Model Y units were available for customers seeking guaranteed handovers before December 31.
This combination of urgency marketing and genuine supply-demand pressure seemed to have helped boost November’s volumes, stabilizing what had been a year marked by several months of year-over-year declines.
-->For the January–November period, Tesla China recorded 754,561 wholesale units, an 8.30% decline compared to the same period last year. The company’s Shanghai Gigafactory continues to operate as both a domestic production base and a major global export hub, building the Model 3 and Model Y for markets across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, among other territories.
Tesla bear Michael Burry got blunt with his beliefs over the company’s valuation, which he called “ridiculously overvalued” in a newsletter to subscribers this past weekend.
“Tesla’s market capitalization is ridiculously overvalued today and has been for a good long time,” Burry, who was the inspiration for the movie The Big Short, and was portrayed by Christian Bale.
Burry went on to say, “As an aside, the Elon cult was all-in on electric cars until competition showed up, then all-in on autonomous driving until competition showed up, and now is all-in on robots — until competition shows up.”
Tesla bear Michael Burry ditches bet against $TSLA, says ‘media inflated’ the situation
For a long time, Burry has been skeptical of Tesla, its stock, and its CEO, Elon Musk, even placing a $530 million bet against shares several years ago. Eventually, Burry’s short position extended to other supporters of the company, including ARK Invest.
Tesla has long drawn skepticism from investors and more traditional analysts, who believe its valuation is overblown. However, the company is not traded as a traditional stock, something that other Wall Street firms have recognized.
While many believe the company has some serious pull as an automaker, an identity that helped it reach the valuation it has, Tesla has more than transformed into a robotics, AI, and self-driving play, pulling itself into the realm of some of the most recognizable stocks in tech.
Burry’s Scion Asset Management has put its money where its mouth is against Tesla stock on several occasions, but the firm has not yielded positive results, as shares have increased in value since 2020 by over 115 percent. The firm closed in May.
In 2020, it launched its short position, but by October 2021, it had ditched that position.
Tesla has had a tumultuous year on Wall Street, dipping significantly to around the $220 mark at one point. However, it rebounded significantly in September, climbing back up to the $400 region, as it currently trades at around $430.
It closed at $430.14 on Monday.
Tesla appears to be making a change to its exterior side repeater cameras, which are used for the company’s Full Self-Driving suite, and other features, like Sentry Mode.
The change appears to be a potential upgrade in preparation for the AI5 suite, which CEO Elon Musk said will be present on a handful of vehicles next year, but will not be widely implemented until 2027.
Currently, Tesla uses a Sony sensor lens with the model number IMX963, a 5-megapixel camera with better dynamic range and low-light performance over the past iteration in Hardware 3 vehicles. Cameras in HW3 cars were only 1.2 megapixels.
However, Tesla is looking to upgrade, it appears, as Tesla hacker greentheonly has spotted a new sensor model in its firmware code, with the model number IMX00N being explicitly mentioned:
Looks like Tesla is changing (upgrading?) cameras in (some?) new cars produced.
Where as HW4 to date used exterior cameras with IMX963, now they (might potentially) have something called IMX00N— green (@greentheonly) December 1, 2025
Sony has not announced any formal specifications for the IMX00N model, and although IMX963 has been used in AI4/HW4 vehicles, it only makes sense that Tesla would prepare to upgrade these external cameras once again in preparation for what it believes to be the second hardware iteration capable of fully autonomous self-driving.
Tesla has maintained that AI4/HW4 vehicles are capable of self-driving operation, but AI5 will likely help the company make significant strides, especially in terms of overall performance and data collection.
Tesla last updated its exterior cameras on its vehicles back in early 2023, as it transitioned to the 5-megapixel IMX963. It also added additional cameras to its vehicles in January with the new Model Y, which featured an additional lens on the front bumper to help with Full Self-Driving.
Tesla’s new self-driving computer (HW4): more cameras, radar, and more
Tesla sees sharp November rebound in China as Model Y demand surges
Tesla bear gets blunt with beliefs over company valuation
