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Tesla trade-ins in the U.S. are at an all time high<\/a> as some owners become disillusioned with Elon Musk\u2019s politics, and some just want to avoid their car getting keyed by Musk haters.\u00a0<\/p>\n Automakers are pouncing on the opportunity. <\/p>\n Polestar, Lucid Motors, Volvo, and Ford \u2014 which have long trailed Tesla in EV sales \u2014 have taken advantage of the pushback against the brand by releasing conquest bonuses and incentives that challenge a buyer\u2019s brand loyalty. <\/p>\n Shortly after Polestar began offering its $5,000 discount, the automaker\u2019s head of sales Jordan Hofmann said the bonus was already a success.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis week saw some of the highest order days for Polestar 3, and the response to our Tesla Conquest Offer has been incredible\u201d Hofmann wrote on LinkedIn<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Most of the offers don\u2019t require buyers to actually trade in their Teslas to qualify, though Joseph Yoon, consumer insights analyst at Edmund, says the trend is certainly pointing towards EV owners making the switch due to the automaker\u2019s recent brand devaluation<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Musk\u2019s use of his wealth to help elect Donald Trump to office and his subsequent takeover of the federal government via DOGE have led many to associate Teslas with the controversial billionaire. A protest movement known as Tesla Takedown<\/a> has spread globally. Meanwhile, there has been an increase in vandalism of Tesla property and vehicles. The more violent attacks, which have included arson, have incurred the wrath of President Trump, who vowed to treat such incidents as \u201cdomestic terrorism<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether a Tesla owner is on the side of the protesters or just doesn\u2019t want someone spraypainting a swastika on their car, Yoon said buyers are willing to get rid of their vehicles at a loss.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhat these kinds of conquest bonus programs are capitalizing on is that these guys are going to [trade in their Teslas] anyway. What if we make it a little bit sweeter for them and make sure they come to us instead of a competitor?\u201d Yoon said.\u00a0<\/p>\n On the automaker side, Sean Tucker, lead editor at Kelley Blue Book, told TechCrunch the economics of trade-ins are different at the moment due to Tesla\u2019s unique situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOrdinarily, when a dealer takes a trade-in, they either just put it into their own used side of the business and sell it, or in some cases, they\u2019ll sell it to an auction company that\u2019s going to then sell it to a different dealership. So they sometimes take a mild loss on them, but in a normal market, they can avoid it,\u201d Tucker said. \u201cThat\u2019s really different with Tesla right now because it\u2019s so hard to fix the resale price of a Tesla in an environment where their public image is just changing so quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n Tucker noted that smaller brands like Polestar and Lucid are willing to take a loss on a trade-in in order to take a Tesla off the road and put one of their vehicles on the road.\u00a0<\/p>\n And Yoon said it makes perfect sense for the two upstart EV makers to target their marketing towards their main competition.\u00a0<\/p>\n Early indicators show Musk\u2019s political activities have negatively affected new car sales<\/a>. It\u2019s unclear if these trade-in incentives and discounts will make a dent in Tesla\u2019s share of the EV market.<\/p>\n The consequences of Trump\u2019s new automotive tariffs<\/a> could further complicate outcomes as buyers seek out lower cost vehicles. <\/p>\n \u201cTesla\u2019s big edge is that its most popular vehicles are manufactured here and very few imported parts,\u201d Yoon said. \u201cA lot of these new EVs have a lot of foreign sourcing involved in their parts and manufacturing. So who knows how this will pan out?\u201d<\/p>\n Polestar began offering a special $5,000 discount<\/a> for Tesla drivers looking to lease the company\u2019s new Polestar 3 crossover in February. That deal, plus another $15,000 of Clean Vehicle Incentives to consumers who lease, could get Tesla owners a total of $20,000 off a model year 2025 EV for making the switch.\u00a0<\/p>\nTesla trade-in options<\/strong><\/h2>\n