Exclusive: Tesla's Scrapped Vehicle Rate Nears 19% Across All Ages, Far Exceeding Other EVs

Tesla continues to lead U.S. EV sales with the Model Y, which first hit the road in 2020 and has since become one of the best-selling models for the Elon Musk-led automaker.

However, vehicle history provider EpicVIN, which aggregated a dataset of 296 million vehicles based on sales listings and auction records from providers such as Copart and IAAI, found that Tesla vehicles have a persistently high scrapped-vehicle rate.

A salvage or junk title is a state-level ownership designation typically associated with vehicles deemed a total loss. Depending on state regulations and the extent of damage, some salvage vehicles can be repaired and returned to the road. Let's take a closer look.

Tesla's Scrapped Vehicle Rate Far Exceeds Other EVs in EpicVIN Dataset

EpicVIN said the data analysis covered 70 pure battery-electric models—excluding plug-in hybrids, hybrids, or extended-range EVs—among the 296 million vehicles.

The dataset includes 2,807,799 EVs, of which Tesla vehicles account for 751,766. The dataset also excludes models with fewer than 1,000 units and removes models that share names between internal combustion and electrified versions.

Across Tesla's full lineup, including the Model Y, Model S, Model X, Model 3, and Cybertruck, 138,839 of 751,766 vehicles hold salvage titles, a scrapped rate of 18.5%.

A breakdown of junk-title holdings by Tesla model shows that 64,749 of 341,078 Tesla Model 3s hold junk titles, or 19%; and 42,900 of 225,106 Tesla Model Ys hold junk titles, or 19.1%.

The data shows 21,539 of 114,449 Tesla Model S vehicles hold junk titles, accounting for 18.8% of that model. Of 64,759 Model X units, 9,035 hold junk titles, or 14.0%. The Tesla Cybertruck, the newest and most expensive model in Tesla's lineup, has the lowest scrapped rate, with just 616 of 6,374 vehicles holding junk titles, close to 10%.

Notably, since Tesla produces only pure EVs and has higher cumulative EV sales than traditional automakers, Tesla models may account for more than a quarter of all pure EVs in the dataset.

Importantly, these figures do not represent the scrapped-vehicle rate for Teslas on U.S. roads. EpicVIN's data comes from auction and sales listing records, including Copart and IAAI, rather than state-level title registration systems, meaning these percentages reflect vehicles appearing in those records.

Comparison with Traditional Automakers

For reference, EpicVIN said the 10 best-selling non-Tesla EV models from traditional automakers had scrapped rates between 1.0% and 9.5%, with each model exceeding 60,000 vehicles in the dataset.

The data includes Nissan Motor Co.'s Leaf, with 17,443 of 183,095 vehicles holding junk titles, or 9.5%. The data also shows that 7,920 of 138,593 Chevrolet Bolt EVs from General Motors Co. hold salvage or junk titles, or 5.7%. Of 68,163 Cadillac Lyriq vehicles, 737 hold salvage titles, or 1.1%; while 761 of 76,861 Chevrolet Equinox EVs were sent to the scrapyard, equivalent to 1% of the total.

Among Korean automakers, 2,434 of 67,273 Kia EV6 vehicles hold salvage or junk titles, or 3.6% of the total. On the other hand, 3,843 of 159,202 Hyundai Ioniq 5 vehicles were deemed total losses, or 2.4%. The data also analyzed 81,657 Honda Motor Co. Prologue vehicles, of which 1.4%, or 1,111, hold salvage or junk titles.

The Volkswagen ID.4 totals 101,308 vehicles, of which 3,272 hold salvage titles, or 3.2%. Among 73,084 BMW i4 vehicles in the dataset, 1,997 hold salvage or junk titles, or 2.7%. EpicVIN also analyzed 195,448 Ford Motor Co. Mustang Mach-E vehicles, of which 2.6%, or 5,150, hold salvage titles.

Differences in Sales Volume and Vehicle Age

Since scrapped rates typically rise with vehicle age, the dataset incorporates a vehicle maturity factor. EpicVIN data shows Tesla's high sales volume over a longer period gives its vehicles an average age of 5.4 years in the dataset, compared with 3.0 years for the 65 non-Tesla models.

The data shows that when comparing vehicles of similar age, non-Tesla EV scrapped rates rise as vehicles age, while Tesla's scrapped rate holds steady near 18% across all age groups.

Tesla models, such as the Model Y and Cybertruck, also show junk-title data near 19% when compared with non-Tesla models under five years old. Of 231,480 Cybertruck and Model Y vehicles, 18.8%, or 43,516, hold junk titles.

In comparison, the data shows that among 1,625,624 vehicles across more than 50 non-Tesla models, 2.3%, or 36,829, hold junk titles. When comparing models aged over 5 years and up to 8 years, Tesla vehicles still remain above 18%.

Of 405,837 Tesla Model 3 and Model X vehicles, 18.2%, or 73,784, hold salvage titles. On the other hand, among 174,542 vehicles aged 5 to 8 years from traditional manufacturers, 5.8%, or 10,095, hold junk titles.

The pattern remains similar for vehicles aged 8 to 11 years, with 18.8% of 114,449 Model S vehicles, or 21,539, deemed total losses, compared with 9.5% of 249,631 vehicles from traditional automakers, or 23,711.

Even when grouping vehicles by average age, the EpicVIN dataset still shows Tesla's salvage-title rate holding around 18%-19%, while comparable non-Tesla groups show lower rates.