The first Tesla Cybertruck deliveries will reach buyers in just over two weeks. Hype over the funky, futuristic trucks has been building for years and is likely reaching its peak as the Nov. 30 delivery date approaches. In the car world, buzz like that tends to lead to the automotive equivalent of ticket scalpers.
Tesla has a plan to stop them.
Car Flipping Is a Problem
When a heavily promoted new model appears in limited numbers, inevitably, flippers try to buy it for one price and sell it immediately for a higher one.
The problem can hurt an automaker’s reputation even if the automaker has no real control over the resale of its cars.
That phenomenon is bad enough when dealers are involved. But Tesla’s practice of selling cars for nonnegotiable advertised prices probably increases the temptation for flippers — there’s no dealer markup to eat into flipping profits.
Tesla’s Plan
Tesla is famously tight-lipped about most of its operations. But the company is unusually open about its sales contract. It posts the contract’s text online so potential buyers can review it before diving in.
Recently, new language appeared under the heading “For Cybertruck Only.”
In part, it reads, “You understand and acknowledge that the Cybertruck will first be released in limited quantity. You agree that you will not sell or otherwise attempt to sell the Vehicle within the first year following your Vehicle’s delivery date.”
The move doesn’t outright ban sales in the first year. But it gives Tesla the right to buy the truck back. If Tesla “agrees that your reason warrants an exception to its no reseller policy,” the company says, it may buy the truck back for its original purchase price minus 25 cents per mile driven and the cost of bringing it back to showroom condition.
And what if you and a buyer agree to terms anyway? Telsa will seek damages of $50,000 or the price you sold it for, “whichever is greater.” The company can also refuse to sell you any future vehicles.
Tesla Isn’t The First to Address the Problem
Tesla isn’t the first company to crack down on resellers.
General Motors, last year, stripped warranties from some popular models if owners resold them within a year. The company later limited the move to the first six months of ownership.
More recently, Porsche required those interested in its 911 S/T to lease the car for a year before they were allowed to buy it. That rule is too new for us to evaluate whether it’s working.
