Electric vehicles like the Tesla Model 3 are in a weird place right now. The bipartisan infrastructure bill passed under President Joe Biden was a massive boon for the segment, pumping money into charging infrastructure and creating incentives for drivers to make the switch to battery power. That progress hasn't exactly been undone by the current administration's disinterest in electric vehicles, but the evaporation of the tax credits has certainly pumped the brakes on what looked to be a full-blown electric revolution just a year ago.According to data from Cox Automotive, new electric car sales have taken a dive since last year, down 28% year over year for Q1, with around 213,000 units sold in the US. And yet, used EV sales are up by almost 12% from Q1 2025. At a glance, this tells us that the demand is still there, but new EV prices are hard for the typical driver to justify without the tax credit. Let's dig in and see how we can put this information to use.The following is based on publicly available data from the automakers. Any conclusions drawn thereupon, or opinions provided herein, are those of the author unless otherwise attributed. EV Buyers Have More Options In 2026 Tesla According to Cox Automotive's director of industry insights, Stephanie Valdez Streaty, EV buyers enjoy a wider range of options in 2026, if they're willing to buy used. If you wanted to get an electric car at a low price a few years ago, you could pick between a Chevy Bolt or a Nissan Leaf. These are not terrible choices, but it's a narrow range of options nevertheless. Today, you have the usual range of brand-new budget options, plus used BMWs and Hyundais to add to your list of potential purchases.EVs depreciate notoriously quickly. According to our own price trend tools, a 2021 Tesla Model Y Performance AWD averages a sale price less than half of its original MSRP. Now, there are more used EVs filling up the lots than ever, making used electric cars a true buyer's market.In February, the average cost of an EV transaction was under $25,000. The average cost of a new EV, in that same month, was $55,300. For many drivers, this is a no-brainer. A used electric car for half the price of a brand-new one is an easy choice to make, especially when you don't have those EV credits to sweeten the deal. What Were People Buying Last Year? In 2025, the top 10 hottest new EVs were as follows.To get an idea of what new EV sales look like in 2026, the Chevy Equinox EV has sold 9,589 units in Q1 this year. In Q1 2025, the Equinox EV sold 10,329 units. 740 sales might not sound like a lot, but, when you're selling at a relatively low volume, to a niche market, it amounts to a loss of more than 7%. Long-Range EVs Are Just The Thing For Record-High Gas Prices Tesla Unsurprisingly, long-range models are helping to drive interest in used EVs. What we're looking at in the next year or so feels like the second coming of the Oil Crisis that gave us the Malaise Era all those years ago, and a long-range EV is just what the doctor ordered if you want to ride this thing out without breaking the bank. The Tesla Model 3 Remains Popular For A Reason TeslaYou've likely heard by now that Tesla is narrowing its portfolio, dropping the Model S and Model X, but keeping the top-selling Model 3 and Model Y. According to our own trending price tool, a Long Range AWD model, with 353 miles of range, is currently selling for less than half its original MSRP of $50,990. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 Offers Lots Of Range Per Dollar HyundaiThe standard 2022 Ioniq 5 will get you 220 miles on a full charge, but long-range models will do 303 miles with a full battery. 2022 SEL models are currently selling at less than half their original MSRP of $46,250. The Chevy Bolt EV Remains An Excellent Budget Model ChevroletA 2021 Chevrolet Bolt was cheap when it was brand-new, and it's cheap five years later. While the Chevy Bolt EV doesn't offer the same range you'll get out of a Model 3, 238 miles is a lot of juice for $15,039.Note that these trending prices may have shifted by the time you read this, as they're based on up-to-the-minute data from our own marketplace. But these numbers should give you an idea of just how affordable used EVs have become in the last year, even as affordable new EVs are still somewhat scarce. 2026 Will Be A Hot Year For Used EVs TeslaWe can file this under D, for "duh," but a combination of record high prices for new cars, and record high costs for gasoline, paired with rapid depreciation for the electric segment, will likely continue to drive interest in used EVs throughout the rest of the year.According to the Wall Street Journal, we shouldn't expect gas prices to come down anytime soon. When the price of oil goes up, we feel it right away. When it comes down, it can take weeks before gas companies care to pass those savings on to the consumer. Meanwhile, a lot of those tariffs (if not all) are still in place, and the EV tax credits aren't likely to be brought back into the equation anytime soon. New EVs Will Likely Bounce Back, But Not This Year EVs are, at the moment, inherently more expensive than comparable ICE models. Consumers are less likely to spend that extra money when inflation is on the rise and tariffs are bumping new car prices up above $50,000. Yes, an EV saves you plenty of cash on gas and maintenance in the long run, but it can take years for those savings to add up, and the average American driver is looking for something to ease the cost of living right now, not five years down the line.Our take: if you've been thinking of going electric, but you were waiting for the right time, well, here it is: the right time, just like you were waiting for. If you don't want to shell out $39,990 for a brand-new Model Y, you can spend half that on a used Ioniq 5, or even less than that on a Chevy Bolt.