Tesla stops guaranteeing its cars’ resale value in North America

Tesla Motors Inc. has ended its resale guarantee program in North America.

The program, which began in 2013, guaranteed that Tesla vehicles would have a higher resale value after three years than premium sedans from manufacturers such as BMW and Mercedes.

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk personally backed the program, saying he wanted to give buyers peace of mind. Buyers who used Tesla financing were eligible.

A Tesla spokesperson said Wednesday that the program reassured customers in Tesla’s early years when its cars didn’t have a track record, but Tesla sedans are now holding their value even better than the resale value guarantees, so the program is no longer necessary.

That may be true, but a number of Tesla car crashes lately are certainly adding to the company’s track record.

In May, a driver of a Tesla Model S died after his car collided with a big rig in Florida; the Model S had been in autopilot mode, an autonomous feature that is still in public beta.

Since then, two other autopilot incidents have come up.

Over the weekend, a driver in Montana crashed his Tesla and told the Montana Highway Patrol that autopilot had been engaged. And the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is looking into a July 6 crash in Pennsylvania in which a Model X flipped upside down while, its driver said, it was in self-driving mode.

Tesla has also faced its share of problems hitting its promised vehicle delivery targets.

The resale guarantee will still be available in some international markets.

Tesla shares fell 1% to close at $222.53 on Wednesday.

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