Tesla reversed course on its initial claims to sue Cybertruck resellers if they flipped their car within the first year of purchase. The first Cybertrucks, which start shipping out on Nov. 30th, will no longer have the strict penalties tied to reselling that they once did.
Elon Musk’s car company originally included a “For Cybertruck Only” clause in its U.S. order agreement stating customers may not resell their vehicle within the first year of delivery, and Tesla could levy a penalty of $US50,000 if they do. Users on X spotted that language had been removed from the agreement as of Wednesday, just days after it was introduced. You can read the new agreement now, but the old one still exists on archived pages.
It’s unclear if there will truly be no penalty for reselling Cybertrucks. Tesla’s U.S. order agreement still includes a “No Reselling” provision, and the company “may unilaterally cancel any order that we believe has been made with a view toward resale of the vehicle,” and they won’t refund your money.
It seems Tesla, at the very least, will not sue you for $US50,000 if you resell your Cybertruck, given the new agreement. The removal of the Cybertruck-specific penalties implies a more lenient stance on the issue, perhaps sparked by the media frenzy and public outrage about these claims. Beware, however, because Tesla still has a do-not-sell list for resellers, so the Cybertruck may be the last Tesla product you purchase.
Wedbush Securities Tech Analyst Dan Ives attributed the decision to not allow resale for Cybertruck to not losing the estimated 750,000 reservations Tesla currently has. It’s expected to be a long time until Musk’s company can fulfill all these claims, and a thriving resale market could cause folks to buy their Cybertruck elsewhere.
It’s unclear why Tesla would have removed this provision just days after it was introduced, and Tesla cut its press team years ago, making it difficult to find out. No resale clauses are common for rare and expensive such as Ferrari and Porsche. It was a strange clause, however, for Tesla, who says Cybertruck will ultimately be a mass-produced car like all its others.