Photo: Tesla
The car industry is trying to deal with production glitches, parts shortages, and long delivery delays. As people got more anxious to get their new vehicles faster, they also got more inclined to pay extra, and so the dealer markups became the norm. And, of course, some people who just bought a new car saw the opportunity to flip it for profit, because, why not? Well, it turns out Tesla has a weapon to prevent that, and it's nuclear.
People who tried to buy a new vehicle faced a new problem in the past year, as prices skyrocketed and incentives evaporated. Instead of being courted by the dealers like before, they got slammed with markups on a “take it or leave it” basis. To make matters worse, owners started reselling their new cars for insane amounts of money, because people are willing to pay a lot for the privilege of having a new car immediately.
This goes for many brands and popular vehicles out there, and carmakers have taken notice. They usually put pressure on dealers to stop them from applying markups. But options are limited. Some moved new vehicles in the used-car inventory just to be able to continue with the markups. But there is no solution for people who resell their cars for profit. Or so we thought, until we’ve heard what Tesla is doing.
As you know, Tesla sells its vehicles directly to customers, so no dealer is involved in the process, which means no markups. But Tesla also has longer delivery times, and prices for used examples are sometimes higher than the MSRP for the vehicle. This has prompted some fresh Tesla owners to make a quick buck by reselling their new cars for profit. But Tesla does have rules to prevent that, and is not shy about enforcing them.
People started complaining that Tesla banned them from buying new vehicles after they were caught reselling theirs. It all started with a message they got from the Tesla Loss Prevention Team (yes, they have that!) announcing the decision.
“Our Loss Prevention team has conducted an investigation and determined that actions on your account post-delivery are in violation of our reseller policy,” the email, which had been reshared from a U.S. Tesla group, read. “We will hereby be canceling any remaining open orders and you have been added to our do not sell list.”
There is no arguing with the decision, which is final according to the email, and there’s no one listening at the other end of the line. This is not the first time when this happens, as people started complaining about similar actions back in December, according to teslamotorsclub.com. So, if you are caught reselling your Tesla for profit, this effectively means no more Teslas for you.
The thing is, people do sign an agreement when they buy their cars, but few ever read it. According to the buyer’s contract, Tesla prohibits reselling the car. “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 otherwise been made in bad faith,” reads the clause.
It’s not clear from the contract what resale means, but apparently, the clause is triggered when there is more than one car involved. This might also impact some small businesses that operate on the edge of the law, as some on the TMC forum noted. For instance, some people are renting their Teslas on platforms like Turo, and sometimes their customers end up buying the car. Or so they say.
Anyway, such a clause in the buyer’s contract could be adopted by other carmakers in the future, to curb reselling of their vehicles. We believe this would be necessary for a healthy, functional car market. Of course, it would be best for the production to meet demand, but we all agreed that this would not happen anytime soon.
This goes for many brands and popular vehicles out there, and carmakers have taken notice. They usually put pressure on dealers to stop them from applying markups. But options are limited. Some moved new vehicles in the used-car inventory just to be able to continue with the markups. But there is no solution for people who resell their cars for profit. Or so we thought, until we’ve heard what Tesla is doing.
As you know, Tesla sells its vehicles directly to customers, so no dealer is involved in the process, which means no markups. But Tesla also has longer delivery times, and prices for used examples are sometimes higher than the MSRP for the vehicle. This has prompted some fresh Tesla owners to make a quick buck by reselling their new cars for profit. But Tesla does have rules to prevent that, and is not shy about enforcing them.
People started complaining that Tesla banned them from buying new vehicles after they were caught reselling theirs. It all started with a message they got from the Tesla Loss Prevention Team (yes, they have that!) announcing the decision.
“Our Loss Prevention team has conducted an investigation and determined that actions on your account post-delivery are in violation of our reseller policy,” the email, which had been reshared from a U.S. Tesla group, read. “We will hereby be canceling any remaining open orders and you have been added to our do not sell list.”
There is no arguing with the decision, which is final according to the email, and there’s no one listening at the other end of the line. This is not the first time when this happens, as people started complaining about similar actions back in December, according to teslamotorsclub.com. So, if you are caught reselling your Tesla for profit, this effectively means no more Teslas for you.
The thing is, people do sign an agreement when they buy their cars, but few ever read it. According to the buyer’s contract, Tesla prohibits reselling the car. “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 otherwise been made in bad faith,” reads the clause.
It’s not clear from the contract what resale means, but apparently, the clause is triggered when there is more than one car involved. This might also impact some small businesses that operate on the edge of the law, as some on the TMC forum noted. For instance, some people are renting their Teslas on platforms like Turo, and sometimes their customers end up buying the car. Or so they say.
Anyway, such a clause in the buyer’s contract could be adopted by other carmakers in the future, to curb reselling of their vehicles. We believe this would be necessary for a healthy, functional car market. Of course, it would be best for the production to meet demand, but we all agreed that this would not happen anytime soon.
Google News