The number of Americans looking to sell their used Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) vehicles has surged to an all-time high, coinciding with a challenging period for the company.
Specifically, search interest for the phrase “sell my used Tesla” has skyrocketed 733% in March, according to Google Trends data retrieved by Finbold on March 22.
The search term had a score of 12 for the week of March 2-8 before spiking to a peak popularity score of 100 by the week ending March 21. Over the past year, interest in the phrase remained flat, with minimal activity until the sudden surge in March.
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California, Florida, and Virginia have the highest concentration of searches, with Washington and Texas also showing notable interest.
This online trend appears to align with real-world market data. To this end, online automotive resource platform Edmunds has observed a growing number of Tesla owners opting for trade-ins, signaling a potential shift in consumer sentiment toward the electric vehicle (EV) giant.
Data provided by the platform indicates that in the first two weeks of March, Tesla models from 2017 or newer accounted for 1.4% of all trade-ins, up from 1.2% the previous month. Estimates indicate that if this trend is sustained, March will record the highest monthly share of Tesla trade-ins.
Tesla’s growing headwinds
The rising interest in selling used Tesla vehicles coincides with a period when the company continues to battle multiple headwinds, such as declining sales and increasing competition from Chinese EV makers.
However, the need to offload Tesla vehicles may also be partly linked to the backlash against CEO Elon Musk, whom some critics view as polarizing due to his association with far-right political figures. Musk’s role at the Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E), which aims to slash spending, has contributed to the backlash against him.
The executive’s critics have organized peaceful demonstrations at Tesla dealerships and factories across North America and Europe. However, some dealerships and vehicles have also been vandalized, acts that the government has labeled as “domestic terrorism.”
To this end, Ben Kallo, an analyst at Baird, cautioned that targeting Tesla vehicles might deter future buyers.
“When people’s cars are in jeopardy of being keyed or set on fire out there, even people who support Musk or are indifferent Musk might think twice about buying a Tesla,” Kallo said.
Although Musk is projecting resilience, which has helped Tesla stock see minor recoveries in the short term, the number of setbacks affecting the firm continues to accelerate, with safety regulations emerging as the latest concern.
In this regard, over 46,000 Cybertrucks have been recalled due to a defect that could cause body panels to detach, marking the eighth recall for the vehicle in just over a year.
Tesla stock remains under pressure
Amid growing concerns about the Tesla brand, the company’s stock remains under pressure despite short-term recovery attempts. A Finbold report noted that investors are increasingly looking to offload TSLA as it struggles to break the $250 resistance.
As of press time, Tesla shares traded at $248.71, closing the last session up 5.2%. Over the past week, the stock has gained 1.5% but remains down nearly 35% year to date.
Despite recent volatility, retail investors have poured a record $8 billion into Tesla over 13 days as of March 21, marking the largest buying streak in the company’s history.
Technically, pseudonymous stock trading analyst Prof_heist, in an X post on March 21, highlighted a double hammer pattern on Tesla’s weekly chart, a bullish reversal signal, suggesting strong buying pressure may halt the downtrend.
If momentum builds, Tesla could target $260 next, with $300 as a secondary target. However, failure to hold support may lead to a retest of $180.
Wall Street divided over Tesla stock
While these uncertainties persist, Wall Street analysts remain divided on Tesla’s outlook.
For instance, RBC Capital’s Tom Narayan maintained an ‘Outperform’ rating on Tesla but cut the price target from $440 to $320. He dismissed concerns over Tesla’s declining sales, arguing that fears of collapsing German shipments and consumer rejection are exaggerated. However, as competition in autonomous driving grows, he lowered his outlook due to weaker-than-expected gains from Full Self-Driving (FSD) and Robotaxi.
JPMorgan’s Ryan Brinkman, however, remains highly bearish, slashing his price target from $135 to $120. He cited falling demand, consumer backlash against Musk, and rising Tesla boycotts as major risks.
Redburn-Atlantic reiterated its ‘Sell’ rating with a $160 target, citing weak growth and high inventories ahead of the April delivery report.
On the bullish side, Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas reaffirmed Tesla as his top auto pick, keeping an ‘Overweight’ rating and a $430 target. He views Tesla as a future AI and robotics leader with a long-term upside of $800. Similarly, Wedbush’s Dan Ives called the recent slump a “gut check moment” for investors, maintaining his Street-high $550 target and an ‘Outperform’ rating.
Featured image via Shutterstock
