Tesla has introduced a controversial ‘scrappage’ scheme for buyers who trade in an older petrol or diesel car. During the month of June, customers whose car is valued at less than £2,000 will get an additional £2,000 off a Model 3 or Model Y.

For example, if the trade-in value of their vehicle is £1,500, customers will receive £1,500 for the trade-in and an additional £2,000 from Tesla, resulting in a total contribution of £3,500 towards their new Model 3 or Model Y.

In a statement, Tesla said: “In support of our mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy, Tesla are removing petrol and diesel cars from UK roads as part of our trade-in process.”

To be eligible for the scheme, customers must receive confirmation that the value of their trade-in quote is less than £2,000 between June 1 and June 30, 2023. If they qualify, they can choose to trade in their current vehicle with Tesla, and we will apply the contribution as a credit towards the final price of their new Tesla.

​To prevent buyers who are in the market for a Tesla buying a banger for a few hundred quid, trading it it in and getting £2,000 off a car, the trade-in has to have been registered in their name for at least three months and have a minimum of 30 days' clear MoT. 

The scheme covers Model 3 and Y only

Is it worth it? Our opinion....

While it seems like a good thing to get older, more polluting cars off the road and replace them with a Tesla, but there can’t be many buyers who are able to make the leap from a banger to a £50,000 car.

It might be good deal for someone whose car is approaching an MoT and is going to inevitably head for scrap, but the trade in prices offered by Tesla seem to be on the low side. The web value tool offered us £1,668 for a 2012 Fiat Panda with 33,000 miles which Auto Trader suggested was worth £3,300 in a private sale.

There’s also the thorny environmental question of scrapping cars which still have some life left in them. While getting rid of petrol and diesel vehicles obviously has a benefit for air quality, there will be plenty of drivers who feel it is wasteful to ‘throw away’ a car which could provide economical transport for several years.

​The besides the rules around having owned the car for at least three months and having 30 days' MoT, the scheme also excludes cars which are damaged or have been used as a taxi. This seems odd - while that would affect the resale value it makes no difference to the value of a vehicle which is going to be scrapped.

 If you do manage to fit into the small niche of people who have an old car you want to chop in for a new Tesla, it would result in a bargain. As the Tesla website is currently offering unregistered Model 3s at £40,190, an extra £2,000 would bring the price down to £38,190 - the same as a top-of-the-range Fiat 500 Electric and cheaper than the new Astra Electric.

The old cars will be scrapped, rather than sold on, says Tesla