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Used Teslas are getting very cheap, but buying one can be risky

Cars, Evergreen, Hertz, tesla model 3, Tesla Model Y, used ev prices, used EV tax credit, used tesla / /

how many miles? —

As used Teslas drop in price, are they a bargain or buyer beware?

–

A white Tesla Model 3 in slightly used condition

Enlarge / Used Tesla Model 3s can be had for less than $20,000 now.

Getty Images

The launch of a new electric vehicle these days is invariably met with a chorus of “this car is too expensive”—and rightfully so. But for used EVs, it’s quite another story, particularly used Teslas, thanks to a glut of former fleet and rental cars that are now ready for their second owner.

“Due to a variety of reasons, Tesla resale values have plummeted, making many Tesla models very affordable now. Plus, for some consumers, an additional $4,000 Federal tax credit on used EVs may apply, sweetening the deal even further. Buying a used Tesla can be a great deal for the savvy shopper, but there are significant things to look out for,” says Ed Kim, president and chief analyst at AutoPacific.

Indeed, a quick search on the topic easily reveals some horror stories of ex-rental Teslas, so here are some things to consider if you’re in search of a cheap Model 3 or Model Y.

For more than a year, Tesla has been engaged in an EV price war, mostly driven by its attempt to maintain sales in China. Heavily cutting the price of your new cars is a good way to devalue the used ones, and Hertz’s decision to sell at least 20,000 of its Teslas was in part a response to the lower residual values.

What to watch for

“The prices are very appealing, but shoppers must keep in mind that rental cars can and do get abused, and some of these ex-rental units may have nasty surprises stemming from their hard lives. Be sure to have yours checked out thoroughly by a mechanic before buying,” Kim says.

Mismatched tires and minor dents, scrapes, and rock chips are fairly common minor issues. Many of the Teslas that Hertz is selling have been used as Ubers—you can tell it’s one of these if the odometer is approaching 100,000 miles. Battery degradation could be an issue, although most cars will not have lost more than 4–5 percent capacity, and Long Range Teslas should have a powertrain warranty for up to 120,000 miles (or eight years).

“One side effect of Tesla’s widespread and reliable DC fast charging network is that many owners end up relying on it to keep their cars charged rather than dealing with the often considerable expense of installing a home charger and associated home electrical upgrades,” Kim told Ars. As such, you should make sure to check the battery’s health (which can be done on the touchscreen or as part of the inspection) before you buy.

Rental cars can suffer from an excess of slammed doors and trunks—slamming the latter can mess up the powered strut. In the interior, you should expect high signs of wear on some touchpoints, especially the steering wheel and the rear door cards, which can bubble or flake, particularly if the Tesla was used as a ridehailing vehicle.

Other potential headaches

Teslas are very connected cars, and many of their convenience features are accessed via smartphone apps. But that requires that Tesla’s database shows you as the car’s owner, and there are plenty of reports online that transferring ownership from Hertz can take time.

Unfortunately, this also leaves the car stuck in Chill driving mode (which restricts power, acceleration, and top speed) and places some car settings outside of the new owner’s level of access. You also won’t be able to use Tesla Superchargers while the car still shows up as belonging to Hertz. Based on forum reports, contacting Tesla directly is the way to resolve this, but it can take several days to process; longer if there’s a paperwork mismatch.

Once you’ve transferred ownership to Tesla’s satisfaction, it’s time to do a software reset on the car to remove the fleet version.

Not every car will qualify for the $4,000 IRS used clean vehicle tax credit. It has to be at least two model years older than the calendar year in which it is bought used, so only MY2022 and earlier EVs are currently eligible, and it can’t be offered for sale for more than $25,000. The income caps are also half as much as the new clean vehicle tax credit, meaning a single-filing individual can’t earn more than $75,000 a year to qualify.

There are plenty of complaints among the Tesla community that Hertz wasn’t set up to deal with the tax credit, although more recent buyers have reported this has gotten a lot smoother. It’s worth planning ahead and contacting the specific sales branch you plan to buy the Tesla from to make sure they are able to process that paperwork, particularly if you are expecting the credit to be applied to the car’s price at the point of sale rather than waiting until you file your taxes next year.

Buying an ex-rental or ex-fleet Tesla from an independent dealer is also an option. Lots of used car lots have bought Teslas at auction from Hertz and elsewhere, and online anecdotes suggest this is often a more painless experience, particularly when transferring ownership and registering the new owner with Tesla. Then again, you’re more likely to encounter useless third-party warranties and the like if you go this route.

Ex-rental or fleet cars may have had a hard life, but they are also usually maintained far more regularly than most privately owned vehicles. As long as you make sure you aren’t buying a lemon, it’s a good way to get an EV for less than $20,000.

Used Teslas are getting very cheap, but buying one can be risky Read More »

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What I do to clean up a “clean install” of Windows 11 23H2 and Edge

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What I do to clean up a “clean install” of Windows 11 23H2 and Edge

Aurich Lawson | Getty Images

I’ve written before about my nostalgia for the Windows XP- or Windows 7-era “clean install,” when you could substantially improve any given pre-made PC merely by taking an official direct-from-Microsoft Windows install disk and blowing away the factory install, ridding yourself of 60-day antivirus trials, WildTangent games, outdated drivers, and whatever other software your PC maker threw on it to help subsidize its cost.

You can still do that with Windows 11—in fact, it’s considerably easier than it was in those ’00s versions of Windows, with multiple official Microsoft-sanctioned ways to download and create an install disk, something you used to need to acquire on your own. But the resulting Windows installation is a lot less “clean” than it used to be, given the continual creep of new Microsoft apps and services into more and more parts of the core Windows experience.

I frequently write about Windows, Edge, and other Microsoft-adjacent technologies as part of my day job, and I sign into my daily-use PCs with a Microsoft account, so my usage patterns may be atypical for many Ars Technica readers. But for anyone who uses Windows, Edge, or both, I thought it might be useful to detail what I’m doing to clean up a clean install of Windows, minimizing (if not totally eliminating) the number of annoying notifications, Microsoft services, and unasked-for apps that we have to deal with.

That said, this is not a guide about creating a minimally stripped-down, telemetry-free version of Windows that removes anything other than what Microsoft allows you to remove. There are plenty of experimental hacks dedicated to that sort of thing—NTDev’s Tiny11 project is one—but removing built-in Windows components can cause unexpected compatibility and security problems, and Tiny11 has historically had issues with basic table-stakes stuff like “installing security updates.”

Avoiding Microsoft account sign-in

The most contentious part of Windows 11’s setup process relative to earlier Windows versions is that it mandates Microsoft account sign-in, with none of the readily apparent “limited account” fallbacks that existed in Windows 10. As of Windows 11 22H2, that’s true of both the Home and Pro editions.

There are two reasons I can think of not to sign in with a Microsoft account. The first is that you want nothing to do with a Microsoft account, thank you very much. Signing in makes you more of a target for Microsoft 365, OneDrive, or Game Pass subscription upsells since all you need to do is add them to an account that already exists, and Windows setup will offer subscriptions to each if you sign in first.

The second—which is my situation—is that you do use a Microsoft account because it offers some handy benefits like automated encryption of your local drive (having those encryption keys saved to my account has saved me a couple of times) or syncing of browser info and some preferences. But you don’t want to sign in at setup, either because you’re just testing something or you prefer your user folder to be located at “C:UsersAndrew” rather than “C:Users.”

Regardless of your reasoning, if you don’t want to bother with sign-in at setup, you have two options (three for Windows 11 Pro users):

Use the command line

During Windows 11 Setup, after selecting a language and keyboard layout but before connecting to a network, hit Shift+F10 to open the command prompt. Type OOBEBYPASSNRO, hit Enter, and wait for the PC to reboot.

When it comes back, click “I don’t have Internet” on the network setup screen, and you’ll have recovered the option to use “limited setup” (aka a local account) again, like older versions of Windows 10 and 11 offered.

For Windows 11 Pro

Windows 11 Pro users, take a journey with me.

Proceed through the Windows 11 setup as you normally would, including connecting to a network and allowing the system to check for updates. Eventually, you’ll be asked whether you’re setting your PC up for personal use or for “work or school.”

Select the work or school option, then sign-in options, at which point you’ll finally be asked whether you plan to join the PC to a domain. Tell it you are (even though you aren’t), and you’ll see the normal workflow for creating a “limited” local account.

This one won’t work if you don’t want to start your relationship with a new computer by lying to it, but it also doesn’t require going to the command line.

What I do to clean up a “clean install” of Windows 11 23H2 and Edge Read More »

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What happens when you trigger a car’s automated emergency stopping?

advanced driver assistance systems, Cars, Evergreen, Features, road safety / /
screen grab from a Mercedes training video; illustration of sleeping driver

Mercedes-Benz

Most car crashes begin and end in a few seconds. That’s plenty of time to get in a tiny micro-nap while driving. The famous asleep-at-the-wheel film scene in National Lampoon’s Vacation, where Clark Griswold goes off to slumberland for 72 seconds while piloting the Wagon Queen Family Truckster (a paragon of automotive virtue but lacking any advanced driver safety systems), might be a comical look at this prospect. But if Clark were in the real world, he and his family would likely have been injured or killed—or they could have caused similar un-funny consequences for other motorists or pedestrians.

There’s plenty of real-world news on the topic right now. Early in 2023, the Automobile Association of America’s Foundation for Traffic Safety published a study estimating that 16–21 percent of all fatal vehicle crashes reported to police involve drowsy driving.

With the road fatality numbers in the US hovering close to 38,000 over the past few years, that means between 6,080 and 7,980 road deaths are linked to drowsy drivers. Further research by the AAA’s Foundation finds that drivers likely under-report drowsiness in all car crashes. Nodding off while driving is as dangerous as—and potentially more dangerous than—driving drunk. And while drunk-driving figures have decreased between 1991 and 2021, the opposite is true for drowsy driving.

Nissan

Automakers have not been unaware of the problem, either. As long ago as 2007, manufacturers like Volvo began offering drowsiness-detection systems that monitored the driver, though in a simpler way than what’s seen in the leading systems of today. They sensed the velocities of inputs to steering, throttle, and brakes. Some even used a camera aimed at the driver to discern if drivers were becoming inattentive, including drooping their head or simply averting their view from the straight-ahead.

These systems chime a warning and project a visual alert on the dashboard asking if the driver wants to take a break, often with the universal symbol for wakefulness—a coffee cup—appearing in the instrument cluster. Many new cars today still have this feature. And to be sure, it was then, is now, and forever will be a beneficial and effective method of alerting drivers to their drowsiness.

But a level beyond the above audible and visual cues has changed this landscape of blunting the upward trend of drowsy driving. As Level-2, semi-autonomous capabilities emerge in medium- and even lower-priced automobiles, these features also allow cars and SUVs to take control of the vehicle should the vehicle determine that the driver has become inattentive or incapacitated.

On some vehicles, like this Mercedes, you can select the sensitivity of the drowsy driver program (“Attention Assist” in this case) to have a lower or higher threshold for activation.

Enlarge / On some vehicles, like this Mercedes, you can select the sensitivity of the drowsy driver program (“Attention Assist” in this case) to have a lower or higher threshold for activation.

Jim Resnick

Because all the pieces of a vehicle-control puzzle are already on board, enabling a system to take over from an inattentive driver is a matter of programming—extensive programming, of course, but all the critical pieces of hardware are often already there:

  • Selective braking from adaptive cruise control and stability control
  • Self-steering functions of lane-keeping and lane-centering
  • A cellular telematics network.

It’s a lengthy programming exercise that can take control of a vehicle in a simplified way, but not before three forms of human stimuli are triggered to wake up a drowsy driver: sight, sound, and a physical prompt.

This is all great in theory and in a digital vacuum, but I wanted to explore what occurs inside a car that has determined that the driver is no longer actually driving. The Infiniti QX60 and Mercedes EQE 350 have such emergency stop capabilities; I recently tested both.

What happens when you trigger a car’s automated emergency stopping? Read More »

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It’s a new year, and these are now the only EVs that get a tax credit

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lease instead of buy —

Strict rules about battery components from China make most plug-ins ineligible.

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concept of ev tax credit

Getty Images

It’s a new year, and while few of us still have the headache of needing to remember to write the new year on checks, 2024 brings a new annoyance of sorts. As of yesterday, tough new US Treasury Department rules concerning the sourcing of electric vehicle batteries went into effect; as a result, most of the battery and plug-in hybrid EVs that were eligible for the Internal Revenue Service’s clean vehicle tax credit until Sunday have now lost that eligibility.

Under the federal government’s previous program to incentivize the adoption of plug-in vehicles, it offered a tax credit, up to $7,500, based on the battery capacity of a BEV or PHEV, and once a car maker sold more than 200,000 plug-in vehicles, it lost eligibility for the tax credit—Only Tesla and General Motors reached this threshold.

Changes came as part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and went into effect at the start of 2023. Thanks to heavy industry lobbying, credits linked to union-made EVs went by the wayside, with US Senator Joe Manchin acting as point man for companies like Toyota that sought to slow down the EV transition.

As we’ve detailed in the past, the new rules allow for a tax credit of up to $7,500 for the purchase of a new EV. But there are plenty of conditions. Final assembly must take place in North America. There are income caps for the buyer and a price cap for the vehicle—no more than $55,000 for a sedan or $80,000 for an SUV, truck, or minivan. Half of the tax credit is tied to a certain amount of domestically refined or processed minerals in the battery pack, the other half to a certain value of the pack having been assembled domestically.

While that includes countries that have free trade agreements with the United States, it significantly limited the number of new EVs that were eligible for the tax credit. (However, the IRS chose to read the law in such a way as to still allow the full $7,500 tax credit for clean vehicles that were leased, even if not assembled in North America.)

The list of eligible cars changed throughout the year as the rules were implemented in stages, and as automakers refined their supply chains as required. But toward the end of 2023, the Treasury published another new guideline. Now, any car with a battery that contains material from or made by a “foreign entity of concern”—which means Russia, Iran, North Korea, or China—cannot be eligible for the tax credit.

While the first three nations on that list are not particularly far down the road of EV battery making, the same isn’t true for China, which dominates the field, particularly in terms of processing the critical minerals used in lithium-ion batteries. The FEOC rule also applies to batteries made by Chinese-owned companies even if the cells are produced here in the US.

Consequently, the list of BEVs and PHEVs that are still eligible for the new clean vehicle tax credit now looks rather meagre. The following clean vehicles still qualify for the full $7,500, although we should note that the first two on the list (the Chevrolet Bolts) have ceased production now:

  • 2022-2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV
  • 2022-2023 Chevrolet Bolt EUV
  • 2022-2024 Chrysler Pacifica PHEV
  • 2022-2024 Ford F-150 Lightning extended range battery
  • 2022-2024 Ford F-150 Lightning standard range battery
  • 2023-2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance
  • 2023-2024 Tesla Model X Long Rage
  • 2023-2024 Tesla Model Y All-Wheel Drive
  • 2023-2024 Tesla Model Y Performance
  • 2023-2024 Tesla Model Y Rear-Wheel Drive

Additionally, the following vehicles qualify for a $3,750 tax credit:

  • 2022-2024 Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid
  • 2022-2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee PHEV 4xe
  • 2022-2024 Jeep Wrangler PHEV 4xe
  • 2022-2024 Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring
  • 2023-2024 Rivian R1S Dual Large
  • 2023-2024 Rivian R1S Quad Large
  • 2023-2024 Rivian R1T Dual Large
  • 2023-2024 Rivian R1T Dual Max
  • 2023-2024 Rivian R1T Quad Large

But there is one bright piece of news concerning the clean vehicle tax credit in 2024. From January 1, dealers are now able to pass the entire credit on to the buyer at the point of purchase. This applies to both new and used EVs, even in cases where the buyer may not have a large enough tax liability at the end of the year to claim the full credit the old-fashioned way.

It’s a new year, and these are now the only EVs that get a tax credit Read More »

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Here’s how the EPA calculates how far an EV can go on a full charge

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Here’s how the EPA calculates how far an EV can go on a full charge

Aurich Lawson | Getty Images

How does the US Environmental Protection Agency decide how far an electric vehicle can go on a single charge? The simple explanation is that an EV is driven until the battery runs flat, providing the number that goes on the window sticker. In practice, it’s a lot more complicated than that, with varying test cycles, real-world simulations, and more variables than a book of Mad Libs, all in an effort to give you a number that you can count on to be consistent and comparable with other vehicles on the road.

The start of EPA mileage testing

The EPA started testing vehicle fuel economy in 1971, and that initial testing still plays a major role in how modern cars are measured.

The year before, President Richard Nixon signed the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (followed by the Clean Air Act of 1970) and established the EPA with a mandate that included lowering motor vehicle emissions. Part of the EPA’s plan to reduce emissions was to let buyers know just how much fuel a car would use so they could cross-shop cars effectively.

Testing started with a route called the Federal Test Procedure. The EPA adopted an 11-mile (18-km) route that was originally done on real roads in Los Angeles. The route had an average speed of 21 miles per hour (34 km/h) and a top speed of 56 mph (90 km/h). Tailpipe emissions were measured, fuel economy was calculated, and the “city” fuel economy rating was born.

By the time the 10-mile (16-km) Highway Fuel Economy Test was added in 1974, the tests were performed in a lab on a dynamometer. Running tests on the dyno made them more consistent and easier to repeat, though it wasn’t perfect.

Small changes and tweaks were made over the years, with the biggest change announced in 2005. That year, the EPA announced changes to the test to meet new highway speeds, account for heating and air conditioning use, and make the test more relevant to real-world driving. Drivers weren’t able to hit the published numbers, and the EPA wanted to fix that. The system was introduced for the 2008 model year and is largely the one we use today.

Modern range testing

Today, automakers have two different test options for EVs. The automaker can decide that it wants to perform a “single cycle” test. On that test, the car drives the EPA city cycle over and over again until the charge runs out, then does the same on the highway cycle, starting with a full charge. The process is repeated for reliability. The alternative is that the automaker can perform a multi-cycle test that has completed four city cycles, two highway cycles, and two constant speed cycles.

Getty Images

The test cycles

The city cycle

The EPA’s Urban Dynamometer Driving Schedule is the official “city cycle” test loop. It is a complicated graph of time, vehicle speed, and allowable acceleration. The total test time is 1,369 seconds, the distance simulated is 7.45 miles (12 km), and the average speed is 19.59 mph (32.11 km/h). As with all of the tests, the exact speed required at each second of the test is laid out in a spreadsheet.

The highest speed reached on the test is 56.7 mph (91.25 km/h), and there are several periods where the vehicle sits stationary. Stationary seconds of the test made more sense when it was designed to measure a gas vehicle’s idle emissions and consumption, but it does still have some relevance today when it comes to climate control use and energy required to accelerate the vehicle.

The highway cycle

For higher speeds, vehicles complete the Highway Fuel Economy Driving Schedule (HFEDS). This test has a top speed of 59.9 mph (96.4 km/h) and an average of 48.3 mph (77.73 km/h), and it takes 765 seconds to complete.

Only the UDDS and HFEDS tests are required to certify an EV. But a top speed of 59.9 mph is a much lower highway speed than most drivers will experience.

Driving more quickly or using climate control can greatly impact range. More tests were introduced to help give a more realistic range, and they’re part of the 5-cycle test covered below.

Here’s how the EPA calculates how far an EV can go on a full charge Read More »

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How to Measure Your IPD and Why It’s Important for VR & AR Headsets

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IPD stands for interpupillary distance—which simply means the distance between the center of your eyes. It’s important to know your IPD when it comes to VR and AR headsets because headsets can be adjusted to match your IPD for optimal image quality and comfort. Knowing your IPD is important for understanding which headsets are most suitable for your eyes. Luckily you can easily and automatically measure your IPD if you have a recent iPhone or iPad Pro, or use one of several simple measurement methods.

EyeMeasure is a free iOS app which uses the TrueDepth camera on recent iPhone and iPad Pro models to measure your IPD. Developer Dotty Digital claims the measurement is accurate within 0.5mm. Once you use the app the “far” IPD measurement is the one you’ll use when configuring your headset.

You can use the app to measure your IPD with the following iOS devices:

iPad

  • iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation)
  • iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation)
  • iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd generation)
  • iPad Pro 11-inch

If you don’t know which tablet you have, learn how to identify your iPad model.

Other Ways to Measure Your IPD

Image courtesy Will Folsom (CC BY 2.0)

If you don’t have access to one of the above devices for an automatic measurement, here’s other ways you can measure your IPD.

Ask Your Eye Doctor (most accurate)

The most accurate IPD measurement you’ll be able to get is from an eye-doctor. If you’ve been to one since you’ve reached your adult size, your doctor should have an accurate measurement on file; give them a call and ask if they can provide your IPD measurement in millimeters. If you’re younger than 20 and it’s been more than a year since you saw the eye-doctor, you may want to get a check-up to make sure you have an up-to-date measurement.

Online IPD Measure Tool (easiest)

You can measure your IPD with a browser-based tool like this one from Ace & Tate. This will work through your browser on your computer or smartphone. You’ll be asked to upload a photo of yourself holding any standard-sized magnetic strip card (ie: credit card or drivers license) which will be used to establish the correct scale for the measurement.

Use a Mirror (accurate but you need a ruler)

With a ruler and a mirror you can easily measure your IPD. Our friend Oliver Kreylos offers these simple instructions, along with a more detailed breakdown.

  1. Stand in front of a mirror and hold a ruler up to your nose, such that the measuring edge runs directly underneath both your pupils.
  2. Close your right eye and look directly at your left eye. Move the ruler such that the “0” mark appears directly underneath the center of your left pupil. Try to keep the ruler still for the next step.
  3. Close your left eye and look directly at your right eye. The mark directly underneath the center of your right pupil is your inter-pupillary distance.

Ask a Friend (but you need a ruler… and a friend)

Are you a vampire with no need for mirrors in your home? Ask a friend with a steady hand to hold a ruler directly under your eyes. Look straight forward at a distant object and ask your friend to align the “0” mark with the center of one pupil and then read the measurement under the center of your other pupil. That measurement is your IPD.

This is also an ideal way to measure the IPD of a VR novice to which you’re demoing VR.

Eyeball It (when you’re in a pinch)

This option may be the most error prone, but it’s probably better than nothing if you just need a quick and dirty alignment; it only works with headsets that have a physical IPD adjustment.

While inside the headset, close your non-dominant eye. With your dominant eye open, look at a sharp recognizable texture like text or the flat edge of an object. Begin adjusting the IPD setting back and forth to slowly find the position of maximum sharpness. This should get you in the ballpark of your ideal IPD setting. We would not recommend trying this exercise with both eyes open because it’s easier to misalign your IPD when using both eyes.

Thanks to Allan Hambrick who shared this method in the comments!

Why Correctly Setting Your IPD is Important in a VR or AR Headset

Image courtesy Dboybaker (CC BY 2.0)

Tricking our brains into believing we’re seeing another reality starts by feeding our eyes imagery which closely matches how we perceive the real world. That means making sure the images are correctly aligned with each eye, just like adjusting the width on a pair of binoculars.

Since we always see the real world from the perspective of or own IPD, correct alignment in a headset is important for matching our ingrained sense of 3D depth and scale. If the IPD of your headset is incorrectly set, the scale of the virtual world will appear to be slightly incorrect.

Even if a given headset doesn’t have a physical IPD adjustment, most headsets have a software IPD adjustment which can correct the sense of scale. In both cases you’ll need to know your own IPD measurement to set this properly.

Setting the correct IPD is also very important for maximizing image quality in VR and AR headsets.

Most headsets have lenses and displays which are designed to achieve maximum clarity and field of view when seen through the ‘optical center’ of the lens (this is also called the ‘sweet spot’). If the center of your eyes don’t align with the optical center of the lenses, you won’t get that maximum clarity and field of view; depending upon the lens, such misalignment can lead to a surprising reduction in visual quality.

Luckily, many headsets have physical IPD adjustments which allow you to change the distance between the lenses to align your eyes with the optical center of the lenses. All major headsets with physical IPD adjustments have digital readouts in millimeters that display inside the headset which you can use to match to your own IPD.

In summary, knowing your IPD and setting it correctly is important for achieving the best visual experience and comfort in any headset. And if your measured IPD is an outlier, you should make sure your headset of choice can accommodate your IPD; a headset with a physical IPD adjustment will support a much wider range of IPD measurements.

How to Measure Your IPD and Why It’s Important for VR & AR Headsets Read More »

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25 Free Games & Apps Quest 2 Owners Should Download First

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Not ready to plonk down your first $100 on Quest 2 games? Thankfully there’s an impressive number of free games, experiences, apps, and social VR platforms to keep you playing before you’re paying.

Note: We didn’t include demos for paid games in the list, but you should definitely also check out these too for a quick taste of the full thing, such as Synth Riders, Journey of the Gods, Creed: Rise to Glory, Beat Saber, Superhot VR, and Space Pirate Trainer.

We have however included App Lab games. If you want to see more, SideQuest’s search function is a great resource for finding free stuff and demos. Below you’ll find some of the top App Lab games in addition to those hosted on the official store.

Free Games

Blaston

This shooting game just went free-to-play, letting you take on friends, family and foes head-to-head in 1v1 dueling action. Refine your loadout and jump into the action as you scramble for weapons and send a volley of hellfire as your enemies, all the while Matrix dodging through this innovative bullet hell meets futuristic dueling title. Spend money on cosmetics, or don’t: it’s a massive slice of fun any which way.

Gun Raiders

There aren’t a ton of free-to-play shooters out there that promise multiplayer action, however Gun Raiders fits the bill with its multiple game modes that let you jetpack through the air, climbing from wall to wall, and shoot down the competition. There’s the same sort of microtransactions you see in bigger games, but it they’re all avatar skin stuff, so no pay-to-win here.

  • Developer: Gun Raiders Entertainment Inc.
  • Store link

Ultimechs

Ultimechs should look pretty familiar: it’s basically Rocket League, but instead of driving around in cars, you’re given rocket-powered fists to punch balls into the goal. Online multiplayer includes both 1v1 and 2v2 matches, offering up tons of opportunities to earn cosmetic gear that will let you outfit your battle mech into something unique. There are also now two paid battle passes too, offering up a ton of cosmetics to set you apart from the competition.

Battle Talent

Battle Talent is one of those fighting sims that let you go ham on ragdoll baddies, which in this case are wily goblins and loads of skelingtons. This physics-based roguelite action game lets you climb, run and slide your way through levels as you slash, shoot, and wield magic against your foes.

I Expect You to Die: Home Sweet Home

From the studio that brought you the award-winning puzzle game, I Expect You to Die, comes the room-scale mixed reality experience Home Sweet Home, which offers up a new way to defuse potentially lethal situations, and all in the comforting backdrop of your own living room thanks to Quest 2’s passthrough mixed reality function.

Pavlov Shack Beta

Ever wanted to play Counter-Strike on Quest? Pavlov Shack offers up a pretty comparable experience, as you play in either deathmatch or co-op mode. It’s got all of the realistic gunplay and much of the fun of the paid PC VR title, but it’s still going strong with a free open beta on Quest.

Echo VR

Zero-g sports aren’t possible unless you’re stationed on the ISS, and even then you probably shouldn’t muck about. In this fast-paced game of ultimate frisbee-meets-hockey-meets-whatever you’ll launch at speed to the goal, evade the opposing team and chuck your Tron-style frisbee-thing for the win. Remember: you can smash your opponent in the face, but please follow the same suggestions mentioned in Gorilla Tag above.

Spatial Ops

Freshly launched into open beta, this 4v4 arena-scale shooter requires space and Quest 2 (or Quest Pro) owning buddies—both of which you may not have. Still, it makes for an incredible time that is basically the best version of laser tag you’ve ever played. You’ll need SideQuest to download this one since it disables Quest’s guardian system, but it’s well worth jumping through the hoops to get working if you have everything else.

Gorilla Tag

This humble game of tag has taken both SideQuest and App Lab by storm with its infectious gameplay, and it’s now made its way to the official store. You’ll be lumbering around a tree-lined arena using its unique grab-the-world locomotion style that lets you amble around like a great ape. Chase the other apes and infect them or climb for your life as the infected chase you. Pure and simple. Make sure you’re far from TVs, furniture, babies, and pets because you will punch something in the mad dash for sweet, low-poly freedom.

PokerStars VR

No real cash gambling here, but PokerStars VR not only let you go all-in on games of Texas Hold’em, but now a full casino’s worth of table games a machines that are sure to light up the dopamine starved pleasure centers of your brain. It’s all free play, so you won’t be risking real cash unless you buy in-game chips, which cannot be turned back into real money: it’s only to keep your bankroll flush for free play.

Gym Class – Basketball

Gym Class – Basketball is the solution if you’re looking to shoot some hoops and dunk like you probably can’t on a physical court. Online multiplayer lets you go head-to-head for a pretty convincing game of b-ball thanks to the game’s physics-based and full-body kinematics.

Ancient Dungeon Beta

This plucky roguelite dungeon crawler is still in beta (still!), but there’s a reason it’s become an App Lab favorite. Explore a vast dungeon to explore, housing plenty of baddies just asking for the steel of your sword, knives, and arrows. You’ll climb over deep pits, dodge lethal traps, and search for hidden treasures. Smash all the pots and crates you can before it officially launches on Quest sometime in the near future.

Elixir

Would-be wizards, this is your time to shine. Explore a magical laboratory and take on the job of apprentice wizard. The lab is full of gadgets and magical stuff to mess around with; as one of the games that natively supports Quest’s hand tracking, you can put your controllers down and get experimenting with this little slice of the dark arts.

Bait!

Since the recent Fishin’ Buddies update, this classic VR title has gotten a whole new lease on life as a multiplayer VR fishing game that lets you sit back and crack a cold one with the boys as you reel in the big’uns. The additional social areas also let you sit back between your fishing adventures to take part in casual mini-games.

Social VR Platforms

Rec Room

Without a doubt one of the most fun, and most expansive VR titles out there… and it’s free. Sure, you can pay real cash for in-game tokens to buy spiffy clothes for your avatar, but that’s really up to you. Gads of mini-games await you in both first-party creations such as the ever so popular co-op Quests—that could be games in their own right—to user-created stuff that will keep your pocket book gathering dust. It’s social VR, so meet people and have a ball for zero dollarydoos. Fair warning: there’s a ton of kids.

VRChat

If you’ve been anywhere near the Internet in the last few years, it’s likely you’ve already heard about VRChat, the user-generated social VR space filled with… well… everything you can imagine, re-pro games included like Among Us, Mario Kart, and even a version of Beat Saber. Fashion your own avatar or download the millions of user-generated avatars out there so you can embody SpongeBob, Kirito from Sword Art Online, or any one of the million anime girl avatars that you’re bound to see there.

Horizon Worlds

Horizon Worlds is still taking baby steps, although recent efforts have brought more tools and user-generated content to the platform which has rounded out things to make it more competitive with Rec Room and VRChat. You may want to check in just to see the state of Meta’s first-party VR social platform—and then check right out again—but at the price of ‘free’, you may just find an environment or community you really gel with, which is the whole reason behind social VR in the first place.

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