SAN FRANCISCO -- Tesla buyers who waited months for their new car have had an unusual choice for much of the past two years: keep the new electric vehicle, or sell it at a profit to someone with less patience.
But the days of the Tesla flip are numbered -- a potential threat to new car prices that are already getting cut.
Prices of used Teslas are falling faster than those of other automakers and the clean-energy status symbols are languishing in dealer lots longer, industry data provided to Reuters showed.
The average price for a used Tesla in November was $55,754, down 17 percent from a July peak of $67,297. The overall used car market posted a 4 percent drop during that period, according to Edmunds data. The used Teslas were in dealer inventory for 50 days on average in November, compared with 38 days for all used cars.
Rising gasoline prices, an effect of the Ukraine war, boosted demand for Teslas, one of few long-range electric vehicles in …