After just seeing an article about how Tesla tried to put a clause in the contracts for the cybertruck where if you sold it within less than a year of owning it, they would fine you $50,000 in damages and it just made me think… with how many people hate the way Elon and Tesla does business and this being a perfect example of them bullying their customers… I wonder how this idea would go.
First run Cybertruck owner, takes it to a shop and gets it body wrapped with text all over listing every negative thing about Tesla. Initially, we know Elon would try to sue for defamation, but as long as all of the text on it is factual, it would get thrown out of court. I’m thinking things like “Can’t work on your own vehicle.” “Tesla won’t sell you simple repair parts.” “If they find out you got third party work done on your car, they may disable supercharging and other software features.”
Once Elon finds he can’t hit you with legal action, he has two options. Ignore it as you continue to drive it around in public and it continues to catch the eye of news media (We know Elon can’t let something like that go), or he can offer to buy the truck back from you. I wonder how much he’d be willing to pay to get that truck off the road ;)
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That not selling for the first year is also done on other vehicles. Ford did that with the GT40 I belive, and Porsche are doing it with a special edition of the 911 by keeping a stake of it for themselves for that first year
Tilting at Windmills here.
Elon doesn’t care. His fanboys do. They’ll provide the social pressure when he doesn’t. He’s a greedy little fucker. Attorneys cost money. He’d rather send the fans after you with a rabid tweet from his failing social media platform.
Your best answer is to not buy the product. He needs another failure quickly so we can see his speculating ass fall from such great heights.
If I owned the vehicle in this scenario, I’d be more concerned about some of the more, uh, rabid fans of the brand doing something to the thing.
I don’t get the hate on the clause. It’s not bullying. The truck is in demand, people are going to flip it for crazy money during that initial period.
Ford did this clause with the Ford GT, other brands have done similar things. It’s to protect you from scalpers, but because it’s Tesla they suck?
Exactly, the issue here isn’t specific to Tesla. Also, adding a contract clause prohibiting a buyer to quickly flip a vehicle would for sure disincentivize scalpers and thus benefit those who are in the market to buy and own such vehicles in good faith.
That being said, there is a fundamental problem with trying to enforce a clause in a contract after the contract has been completed, at least in American law. Even if it’s determined that such a contract isn’t completed until all its clauses are fulfilled, despite you being in full possession of the good that you bargained and exchanged for, that runs into an issue regarding property rights.
Let’s say you go through the normal process of purchasing a car and now you own it. Let’s say you even paid for it in cash so you own it outright. Yet, Tesla gets to decide what you are and aren’t allowed to do to or with the property you now own for the next twelve months. What if that gets increased to 2 years while you’re patiently during that time? 5 years?
Of course those are all just hypotheticals but they show the scalpers’ argument for what would result from enforcing a post hoc contract provision like that which OP is referring to.
I hope that this doesn’t come off as an attack or objection to your comment because I agree with it. I suppose I just want to highlight the “other side” to the matter.
TLDR: there are two balancing interests at play here: protecting prospective buyers from scalpers and discouraging scalping, versus adhering to the established values/legal precedent for property rights. In any case it’s a complicated issue and one that’s reflected in the current state of the car market now.
I actually love the idea for anti-scalper activities (I wish we would make that shit illegal in general. If we legally put some kind of limit on it, it would help greatly. I remember when there was a news media who interviewed a woman who thought she was going to buy like 10 new Iphones cash. She paid one of the people who had been waiting at the front of the line, $500+ for the spot. Went in the store when the opened and they would only allow her to buy a single phone. I lmao!
That said to force someone to have to keep a vehicle thar they pre-ordered, never tried before, never seen in person before for at least 1 year before reselling is BS. What if I pre-ordered it thinking it was the perfect fit for what I needed and then once I had it, I realized it didn’t work as well for me as I thought I would. Lots of people lease vehicles and that exact same reason. That’s not an option with Tesla though. So if I decide after I bought an untested, unseen item, that it doesn’t fit my needs, I can’t return it for a full refund AND I can’t resell it? I can only sell it back to Tesla for a likely far discounted price since they no longer deal in used vehicles, or suck it up? Sorry, but that’s some BS.
It was confusing to me why there was such an outrage over the no-sell contract when so many other companies do the same thing for their high-end or prototype cars.
Actually, no it was not confusing. Some people will just do all kinds of mental gymnastics and ignore any facts just to shit on Tesla. They’re just as annoying as those who refuse to acknowledge any faults with the company or CEO.
Also because most of the people commenting have never purchased a new car and have no idea what exists outside their echo chamber.
making hating musk and tesla you personality is just as bad as making loving musk and tesla your personality
I guess Americans have an easy life, they’re worried about pointless shit like this and posting about it on the Internet… (looks at myself)
Anyway, if you want to blow your mind, look into how buying a new Ferarri works… That’s some grade-A elitist and cheating shit. But the cars are great, so it is what it is. If you don’t like it, be like Lambo and make your own company. They’re the only ones who can shit on Ferarri and actually get a laugh out of me.
I own a Tesla. I laugh when people driving $100k trucks look at me like I’m driving a Ferrari and point out that their truck could buy nearly 2 of my car. I’m a realist. They are selling a truck comparable to a Ford F-150 to F-350 depending on options. They aren’t selling a nearly one of a kind artistic masterpiece that they will only be producing 50 of.
You think Ferrari is expensive? Look up the cost on a Picasso ;)
If you don’t like it don’t buy it. It’s about the ugliest thing ever anyway
Ferrari there’s a bunch of rules like that.
Read the one about Deadmau5 (DJ) wrapping his Ferrari.
https://www.slashgear.com/965790/rules-to-follow-when-driving-a-ferrari/
Of all the things I hate Tesla and Musk for, this and direct to consumer purchasing are something I give them big props for. Tesla is fighting greedy dealer owners charging markups on vehicles and fighting basically scalpers with this. Ford did the same thing with the GT. I don’t mind at all.