Tesla finally started delivering Cybertrucks after a four-year wait, and early reports stated that the automaker was looking to curb flippers by threatening a $50,000 lawsuit against anyone caught reselling the hotly anticipated truck. As things often go in Tesla’s world, that policy didn’t last long before being walked back, but now it appears the automaker is returning to its initial philosophy of threatening flippers.
The clause initially showed up in the Cybertruck purchase contract before disappearing a short while later. As Electrek pointed out, there’s not much clarity on the policy, as it doesn’t appear in preorder documents and can only be viewed in the fine print of the order screen.
Tesla got significant blowback for the policy, which is likely why it was so quickly rolled back. The reinstatement could mean that the automaker is expecting longer waits for some models, but it could also just be a way to block flippers from reselling the limited-edition Foundation model. Tesla doesn’t have a PR department, so without having a Cybertruck order to review ourselves, there’s no way of knowing which variants the policy applies to.
In any case, this move is likely to cause further confusion among buyers. Many were worried they’d been somehow duped, as they didn’t see the policy before paying the non-refundable $250 order fee. That said, the language currently in the automaker’s preorder agreement states, “Tesla and its affiliates sell cars directly to end-consumers, and we may unilaterally cancel any order that we believe has been made with a view toward resale of the vehicle or that has been made in bad faith.”
Tesla’s Cybertruck reservation page states 2024 delivery times for the range-topping Cyberbeast and all-wheel drive variants, but the cheaper RWD model comes later in 2025. The policy could always flip again before delivery, so make sure you read your purchase contract top to bottom if you’ve got a pending reservation for the truck.
