There's a growing number of frustrated Tesla owners in the US following the automaker's decision to reduce prices a few weeks ago, which is now resulting in lost resale value. Per Bloomberg, the EV automaker's decision to slash prices by as much as 20% in order to boost sales volumes late last year is now leaving a long line of angry customers who missed out on those discounts.

"I feel like I got duped," said one new Model Y owner. "Right off the bat, I'm out $13,306. It's such a large reduction that it's going to affect a lot of people who just bought a vehicle." That owner spent over $77,000 on their Model Y last September.

Tesla also just reduced prices in China for the same reason and increased domestic competition. Recent Chinese buyers have been demanding refunds to match the new pricing, but so far, the automaker has not obliged.

Along with missing out on cheaper vehicles, US customers are also rightly concerned about resale values. New vehicle price cuts will almost immediately strike the used car market, bringing down values even further. It's important to point out that used vehicle pricing, as a whole, dropped by 15 percent last month.

Still, recent Tesla buyers who missed out are right to be angry because the automaker's price cuts are some of the biggest among carmakers in general.

For example, the Model Y base prices are down by 20%, now beginning at $53,000. The Model Y Performance saw a 19% cut. The Model S Plaid? Reduced by 14%.

Like in China, some American buyers feel duped because Tesla pressured them into making their purchases before the end of 2022. Sometimes they were offered discounts to get those orders placed, but they were quite a bit less than what's now available.

CEO Elon Musk said just before Christmas that if "you want to grow unit volume, in which case you have to adjust prices downward." That may be true, but impacted customers have little sympathy. Some still hold out hope for compensation, even if it's an alternative option like free charging or Full Self-Driving.

The question is whether Tesla should be obliged to refund buyers anything at all. If the shoe were on the other foot and buyers lucked out by purchasing before prices went up, they'd deem it fortuitous timing rather than write Tesla a cheque the week after the purchase with the price differential.