Tesla's long-standing plan to use leased vehicles for a self-driving "robotaxi" fleet has quietly faded, as the company reversed course and began selling those cars instead.
A recent report reveals that Elon Musk's vision never materialized, and Tesla turned to reselling off-lease vehicles—often at a profit—rather than deploying them as autonomous taxis.
Back in 2019, Musk confidently told investors that Tesla would launch over a million robotaxis "next year."
As part of that plan, the company announced that customers leasing the Model 3 sedan would not be allowed to buy the car when their lease ended.
"We want them back," Musk said, explaining that the cars would be used in Tesla's future autonomous fleet.
However, the robotaxi rollout never happened. Instead, Tesla began adding software upgrades—such as "Full Self-Driving" (sold for as much as $15,000) and "Acceleration Boost" (a $2,000 add-on)—to used vehicles before reselling them, Reuters said.
These enhancements allowed Tesla to increase the resale value of the cars, earning more than if customers had been allowed to purchase them at lease-end.
Exclusive: Musk took leased cars back so Tesla could use them as "robotaxis." Instead, Tesla sold them https://t.co/5NTJKmU4zs #Tesla
— Edson Ribeiro (@Eddie_Poker) May 15, 2025
Used Tesla Values Drop, Forcing Policy Shift
Industry experts say the practice was legal, but misleading. It denied lessees a common industry option and fueled investor excitement about a future autonomous ride-hailing network that never came. Some Tesla drivers now feel misled.
"The car gets sold at auction, not turned into a robotaxi like I was told," one customer wrote on social media, expressing frustration over the now-scrapped policy. Tesla finally reversed the no-buy rule on November 27, 2023.
According to BNN Bloomberg, a post on X (formerly Twitter), from Tesla's North America account announced, "Lease buyout now available" for new agreements. The website was also updated to reflect the change.
The shift comes amid falling used Tesla values and reduced demand, partly linked to public reactions to Musk's political affiliations.
With growing competition in the EV market and aging models, used Teslas have lost value faster than nearly all other car brands.
Analysts note that resale values for Tesla's Model Y dropped 14% over the past year, while prices for the Cybertruck have plummeted 46%. Tesla's own financial reports cite a "lower profit from used car business" as one reason for falling margins.
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