Sold the Foundation…now what do I do?

[eswimm]

• Macro-level data paints an even grimmer picture: across the U.S., used Cybertruck listings are down ~50% from peak prices (e.g., from $168K to $84K in one year)

Cybertrucks were never worth $168k, ever. A few people, with more money than sense wanted one right now and paid way more than it was worth to get it. There was never any mystery with the Foundation Series that you were paying a $20k premium for the fully loaded vehicle and that it'd be available quickly for $20k less as a base model. They had goals to make 250k of them a year, there's no scarcity there at all.

Sponsored

 

[Deleted member 22486]

I think you’re missing the point but that’s OK. To each his/her own.

 

[Shadowmite]

I think you’re missing the point but that’s OK. To each his/her own.

If your goal is non-depreciation you've boxed yourself into only buying used 1 to 2 years old and only keeping around a year. At which point dealer/seller fees become more of a burden than the depreciation but you still get got. The only winning move is not to play. Or at least not pretend vehicles are any kind of winning move asset. (save for my 2021 Mach-E which netted me $18k profit thanks to covid-19 scarcity.)

Now another side of this that IS a winning more is to consider cost per month or year of driving. Which on a long enough timeline of ownership brings most vehicles to a winning move. More so with free lifetime charging.

 

[Mal]

It you don’t care about depreciation, more power to you — but most of us do.

I don't think you can speak for "most of us". I bought mine to drive until it dies, not to resell.

A poll on the topic might be interesting, though.

 

[RustyLopez]

I bought my FS AWD for $101,135 with the full knowledge that in the very near future, it would drop by $20K when Foundation series ended. And like any other car, especially at the high-end, depreciation is brutal in the first few years.

I don't care.

My Cybertruck isn't an investment, it's a beautiful piece of technology, a magnificent driving experience, and it makes me happy.

(My TSLA stock is an investment)

Well said. I'd also add that if you want to see crushing depreciation, try owning a 7 series BMW. A few years ago I bought a new 750Li. I paid a bit over $100K, not counting sales taxes. Five years later I sold the car with about 115K miles on it for the KBB value of around $24K. It was a hell of a lot of fun while I owned it and it wasn't an investment, so I didn't care, but wow, what a decline in value.

 

[Crissa]

That sounds nice in theory, but let’s be real—almost nobody keeps a vehicle forever.

It wasn't going to continue depreciating at that rate, either. This is just your classic "lost half its value driven off the lot" depreciation, nothing unforeseen or even unusual.

My poor Zero lost most of its value off the lot, and then another chunk when the battery warranty expired, but it still cost me what other bikes new can cost. ...but that's it, it's barely lost anything since because it continues to run fine.

Depreciation really only matters when you sell it. It's at least worth parts, and boy, whole EVs are seriously undervalued compared to their parts.

-Crissa

 

[Mini2nut]

European cars typically take a depreciation hit after the factory warranty expires, especially pre-owned ones with 100k+ miles. That's why most people prefer leasing a BMW, Audi, MB, Land Rover, etc. A European vehicle that is beyond the factory warranty has the potential to turn into a money pit.

 

[Deleted member 22486]

European cars take a depreciation hit after the factory warranty expires, especially pre-owned ones with 100k+ miles. A European vehicle that is beyond the factory warranty has the potential to turn into a money pit.

Look, I got sucked into the vision too — the design, the hype, the promises. I was all in. But at some point, reality kicked in. And stepping outside the distortion field wasn’t just eye-opening — it was necessary. And honestly, freeing.

What’s happening here is a classic echo chamber. Criticism gets dismissed as hate or FUD, and any data that doesn’t support the narrative gets ignored. But facts are still facts.

A lot of people paid $81K+ for a Dual Motor Foundation Cybertruck that’s now worth closer to $60K. To be fair, the Foundation Series Cybertruck wasn’t just a $20,000 markup for nothing. Buyers got a lot of included features — things like premium wheels, Full Self-Driving (a $8,000 value), optional do-dads, and the Foundation badging. So while the price was higher, it did include a bundle of options that would’ve cost extra anyway. The issue isn’t that the Foundation trucks were overpriced for what they included — it’s that the market didn’t hold that value, and resale prices don’t care how those features were bundled.

But it’s still a ~$20K–$25K drop, and that’s being generous. Cyberbeasts that sold for $120K+ are sitting at $90K or lower. Many of these trucks are unsold on reseller lots or sitting on Tesla’s own website as “inventory vehicles” with deep price cuts.

And it’s not just resale value — it’s the broken promises. Still no reliable PowerShare for many of us. Range doesn’t match the hype. Build quality remains inconsistent. The tonneau cover, light bar, and other basic features have had major reliability issues. And now here’s the kicker: no basic Autopilot. Every other Tesla gets Autopilot included — the Cybertruck doesn’t. You have to buy Full Self-Driving to get anything at all. That’s $8k (or $99/month) just to access a feature that used to be standard across the fleet (yes, it’s true Tesla is currently offering a free one-year trial of Full Self‑Driving (Supervised) to non‑Foundation Series Cybertruck owners, but you had to opt in by June 6, 2025).

Nobody wants to admit they made a bad call — it’s human nature. But pretending everything is fine because the people around you are doing the same thing? That’s how you stay stuck. If you’re still loving your truck, great — no judgment. But let’s not confuse emotional commitment with actual value.

Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, even if it’s ignoring reality. Owning the truth doesn’t mean you lost — it just means you’re not afraid to think clearly.

 

[Loudness]

Look, I got sucked into the vision too — the design, the hype, the promises. I was all in. But at some point, reality kicked in. And stepping outside the distortion field wasn’t just eye-opening — it was necessary. And honestly, freeing.

What’s happening here is a classic echo chamber. Criticism gets dismissed as hate or FUD, and any data that doesn’t support the narrative gets ignored. But facts are still facts.

A lot of people paid $81K+ for a Dual Motor Foundation Cybertruck that’s now worth closer to $60K. To be fair, the Foundation Series Cybertruck wasn’t just a $20,000 markup for nothing. Buyers got a lot of included features — things like premium wheels, Full Self-Driving (a $8,000 value), optional do-dads, and the Foundation badging. So while the price was higher, it did include a bundle of options that would’ve cost extra anyway. The issue isn’t that the Foundation trucks were overpriced for what they included — it’s that the market didn’t hold that value, and resale prices don’t care how those features were bundled.

But it’s still a ~$20K–$25K drop, and that’s being generous. Cyberbeasts that sold for $120K+ are sitting at $90K or lower. Many of these trucks are unsold on reseller lots or sitting on Tesla’s own website as “inventory vehicles” with deep price cuts.

And it’s not just resale value — it’s the broken promises. Still no reliable PowerShare for many of us. Range doesn’t match the hype. Build quality remains inconsistent. The tonneau cover, light bar, and other basic features have had major reliability issues. And now here’s the kicker: no basic Autopilot. Every other Tesla gets Autopilot included — the Cybertruck doesn’t. You have to buy Full Self-Driving to get anything at all. That’s $8k (or $99/month) just to access a feature that used to be standard across the fleet (yes, it’s true Tesla is currently offering a free one-year trial of Full Self‑Driving (Supervised) to non‑Foundation Series Cybertruck owners, but you had to opt in by June 6, 2025).

Nobody wants to admit they made a bad call — it’s human nature. But pretending everything is fine because the people around you are doing the same thing? That’s how you stay stuck. If you’re still loving your truck, great — no judgment. But let’s not confuse emotional commitment with actual value.

Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, even if it’s ignoring reality. Owning the truth doesn’t mean you lost — it just means you’re not afraid to think clearly.

It’s not a bad call, it’s one I would make again today. My Cybertruck brings me joy. It’s worth every penny I paid for it, to me. Sorry you couldn’t find that for yourself.

Not everything is about money, value is not a commodity.

 

[eswimm]

Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, even if it’s ignoring reality. Owning the truth doesn’t mean you lost — it just means you’re not afraid to think clearly.

I think the mistake is believing that your reality is everyone's reality. My truck has been virtually flawless over the past year, only needing a slat added to the tonneau (I could see the water management channel) and a replacement passenger mirror that clicked funny when it folded.

My Powershare install was $2,300 and works great, in fact my neighbor asked me if it was the truck powering the house when a distracted Uber Eats driver knocked out a utility pole and 1400 houses' power. I'd have definitely liked the 500 mi range in the concept tri-motor, but the advertised range was 320 miles when I bought it and this is the 1st Tesla of the 4 I've owned that actually gets near rated efficiency with my mostly highway drive cycle.

Driving the truck is amazing, my BMW i8 has sat in the garage, being driven only a handful of times over the past year (car wash to wash the dust off and it needed to be inspected) because it feels cumbersome to drive compared to the CT. If I could go back in time and wait until now to purchase, I still wouldn't. A similarly optioned truck would only cost me ~$4k less (new), although I could pickup a demo for another $2-3k saved (my Model X was a demo and it turned out great). I wouldn't trade the past year of driving for $6-7k in savings.

 

[Coagulation]

Cars aren’t a bad investment. They aren’t an investment at all. New cars burn money. There is a thing called a depreciation curve. Most depreciation happens very early on, and slows down over time. Say a CT has gone down by $25k… will it be $25k less in July 2026? $25k less in July 2027? $25k less in July 2028? No, it will not. Selling within one year of buying any vehicle gives you the least value/usage relative to deprecation

 

[Sjohnson20]

COVID got people believing their car was an investment. It was a blip in time. Like another dimension. We are now back to reality where when you buy a new car it wont be sold for more than you paid. Cars are luxury purchases. They are not investments. If I wanted to save money I would buy a used Model 3 for 25k.

 

[hemiarch]

What does one even buy after driving a CT?

Another Tesla

 

[Deleted member 22486]

I think the mistake is believing that your reality is everyone's reality. My truck has been virtually flawless over the past year, only needing a slat added to the tonneau (I could see the water management channel) and a replacement passenger mirror that clicked funny when it folded.

My Powershare install was $2,300 and works great, in fact my neighbor asked me if it was the truck powering the house when a distracted Uber Eats driver knocked out a utility pole and 1400 houses' power. I'd have definitely liked the 500 mi range in the concept tri-motor, but the advertised range was 320 miles when I bought it and this is the 1st Tesla of the 4 I've owned that actually gets near rated efficiency with my mostly highway drive cycle.

Driving the truck is amazing, my BMW i8 has sat in the garage, being driven only a handful of times over the past year (car wash to wash the dust off and it needed to be inspected) because it feels cumbersome to drive compared to the CT. If I could go back in time and wait until now to purchase, I still wouldn't. A similarly optioned truck would only cost me ~$4k less (new), although I could pickup a demo for another $2-3k saved (my Model X was a demo and it turned out great). I wouldn't trade the past year of driving for $6-7k in savings.

Ok ?

 

[vandytom]

That sounds nice in theory, but let’s be real—almost nobody keeps a vehicle forever. Life changes, priorities shift, and when that happens, depreciation hits hard. Even if you do hang onto it long-term, you’re still eating the loss—it just doesn’t show up until later. Saying depreciation doesn’t matter if you never sell is like saying a sinking ship is fine as long as you stay on it. Value still disappears—you’re just choosing to go down with it.

Inflation is only rising. It don’t matter bc you cannot get a better vehicle today. It’s called sunk cost. I had plenty of incentives. Foundation owners do get screwed but not the regular owners.

Sponsored