As a bit of context:
It is not uncommon for high end cars (and that is what they are marketing the cybertruck as…) and even a lot of “prestige” fashion or electronics to have a no resale for N months clause. That is actually “good” because it severely limits the resale/scalping market and discourages people from buying them to flip them.
That said, this is also a textbook example of when you provide an exception. Loyal customer (whether they are or not) who can’t actually use a product. Because then you can spin that as “We are a great company, we have your back”
Tesla is only interested in screwing customers out of money and never dealing with them again. It’s not a prestige vehicle, it’s a defective piece of shit.
Obviously. Doesn’t change that this is “normal”
What is not “normal” is that, like all of musk’s companies, they manage to fuck up even the most trivial of PR wins.
Gallant would either buy the truck back (maybe minus a “restocking” fee) and use it for parts or replace enough parts they can call it “new” and re-sell it. Or they would coordinate with an influencer they trust to favor them and broker the deal
Goofus tells the cusomer to go fuck themselves and assume they will win on twitter.
It isn’t normal. Toyota doesn’t ban you from resale, Ferrari does. Tesla isn’t comparable to Ferrari, and drawing that comparison only serves to normalize this lunacy. That’s the point I was making about that. The stans will punish themselves, and I’ll chuckle sensibly at it, but normal consumers getting duped into this kind of BS isn’t acceptable.
As at example why this is a good thing, consider the latest X-Box consoles.
I tried two Christmases in a row to buy new game consoles for my kids, but they were never available. They sold out almost immediately. Some of that was too few being produced, but some was scalpers swooping in to take all stock before customers could. Scalpers would offer some for double or triple the price, but I refuse to support that behavior.
Scalpers directly lead to my frustration on the product, and giving them up, scalpers directly lead to my kids giving up XBox gaming altogether. Scalpers directly led to the entire eco-system losing the profits from a family that likely would have spent way too much, and I’m sure I’m not alone. Everyone lost, except the scalpers.
Retailers eventually started imposing purchase limits to reduce the impact of scalpers, but it was too little too late. the X-Box ecosystem lost customers who will never come back.
And Walmart. Fuck Walmart. I’ve read about the negative impact of Walmart but never had a strong opinion since I rarely used them anyway. But during the Xbox fiasco, their website offered scalper sales at some of the highest markups, their websites falsely reported Xboxes in stock to product finders when it was only scalper ads. Fuck that, and fuck any large retailer who refuses to support Apple Pay because they’re trying to force customers to use their shitty pay system
Yup. It was especially hilarious how many people on the various message boards and discords would talk about “Oh, this is the tenth PS5 that I found to buy for my friends”. And there were people dumb enough to think they weren’t scalping.
Which was actually nice. The Sony website queues were… bad. But it was tied to a PSN account which drastically limited how many an individual could buy. I am sure that, much like with Valve doing the same for the Steam Deck, is no longer effective because professional scalpers have like 40 accounts they bought a 2 dollar game on. But it made for a much nicer experience.
I helped myself and 2 others get PS5s, but I basically followed a specific account on Twitter when they announced new drops at Target/Walmart/etc
Lol they could just say you can’t sell it for more than the sticker price. This is just fucking the customer!
In theory? I prefer that approach.
In practice? Oh yeah, I totally legally sold my stupidly and unnecessarily expensive limited edition shoes to someone for sticker price. On a completely unrelated note, they gave me an extra 500 dollars for no apparent reason"
“No resale” sidesteps all of that while also removing the bad PR of “and all 5000 cybertrucks were on facebook marketplace two days later”.
The issue is not the no resale for N months policy. That is, ironically, more pro consumer than not. The issue is that it is being applied to a shitty product with prototype teething issues where the scarcity was artificially induced due to poor design processes.
Now, if we want to have a DIFFERENT discussion about how most of these “prestige” products are marketed through artificially induced scarcity then… yeah. But in a world where people want to buy something with a ridiculously limited run? I would rather the people fighting over who gets to buy it actually “want” it rather than just the same scalper bots we see in everything else.
A Ferrari or Pagani is a high end luxury car, a Tesla is an overpriced normal car they want to hype up in order to sell it to chuds with more money than sense
I don’t feel sorry for anyone buying 250k hunks of shit.
Or for anyone who gives money willingly to a company run like Tesla. They knew who they were buying from.
The manager told Raddon that his situation wouldn’t likely warrant an unforeseen circumstance that would trigger Tesla’s re-purchase of the truck, and reminded him that he signed a Tesla Vehicle Order Agreement which states if a Cybertruck owner sells the EV during the first year, they can be fined $50,000 and be banned from buying future Teslas. According to Business Insider:
This seems sketchy, but then again companies apparently just get to do what they want as long as they can afford enough lawyers.
Raddon told BI that he’s a rule-follower and he doesn’t plan to go against Tesla’s verdict on the matter or hire a lawyer to dispute the decision.
Hahaha!
omg that’s so much worse than just being a Tesla cuck… That’s like fighting to be Elon’s Bottom Bitch… These people are insane.
Lawyers aren’t cheap…
Sounds like a flaw in the system that disproportionately favors the rich. Should probably do something about that.
From “Elon’s Bottom Bitch” to “poor victim of the system” eh?
No, the fact they’re not choosing to fight while having enough money to throw at Tesla makes them a Bottom Bitch.
The system making expensive lawsuits one of the only ways to restitution is the victim part. Please learn nuance before making smartass insults that don’t even make sense.
I suppose I should expect this type of response from someone who is willing to victim-blame consumers because of the company they chose to purchase from.
Oh nonono, they aren’t a victim for buying a cybertruck. The problems with Tesla and Musk have been obvious for years by now.
The fact you do not understand being a responsible purchaser when spending SIX FIGURES leads me to believe you’re biased towards stupid decisions yourself. I’m sorry, but this person has made an unequivocally stupid purchase, and then doesn’t want to fight getting fucked by the rich troll…
If you want to die on the hill of defending someone making repeatedly poor decisions, be my guest.
Two things can be true at the same time. You know that, right? Also, that’s a bit of a misrepresentation.
…and he might have alimony payments to worry about in the near future. Perhaps child support, too.
if a Cybertruck owner sells the EV during the first year, they can be fined $50,000
How is that even remotely enforceable?
It may not be, but it worked on this guy though intimidation since he isn’t going to contest it.
In most jurisdictions such a clause would be downright illegal and thus completely void.
Yeah, but he lives in Utah, so…
Good, you see what I tried to imply here.
The discoloring on the steel makes this car look 10 years older just about a month after it came out of the factory.
Meh, just post it for sale at 50k higher than what you actually want out of it.
Who exactly wants a used Truck that costs an extra 50k?
You think people who want a Cybertruck are intelligent? Or aren’t willing to pay and extra 50k to get it now, instead of having to wait a year or more to get it after deciding?
That window has closed. People were willing to pay over sticker price for like a month after release because they wanted to be the first to have the car. Now the secondhand value has gone down to below the price of a new one.
You think people who want a Cybertruck are intelligent?
I don’t think that they are irrational, and that months of bad press has killed all the hype.
There are years of bad press and somehow people still bought it.
Supply and demand. Whenever there is more demand than supplies, there is opportunity for scalpers and flippers to take advantage.
Regardless what you think about the product, the manufacturer or its ceo, protection from scalpers/flippers is good consumer protection.
Jeebus man. This car is probably the ugliest car after the Homer Simpson design. The concept is even dumber, and it’s hard for me not to look down on buyers/owners of such ugly fanboi thrash-ware…
Well that’s on him for buying a big ugly piece of crap from a company with a crazy dumb narcissistic greedy CEO.
Who is also a big player and financier of the new fascist movement
For reference, a U.S.-made Honda Civic is 70.9 inches (1800.86 mm) wide.
A Nissan Clipper Kei Truck is 58 inches (1475 mm) wide.
A pickup truck smaller than a sedan. You can’t even buy them in the U.S. unless they’re specially imported.
American vehicles are too big. Just way too big.
I would love one of those kei trucks for camping. Solid size and I can have a whole set up in the back. Would you happen to know if there’s an American alternative? I’ve looked into some kei trucks and there’s some cheap ones in japan but it would be a fortune to import and I’m not car savvy so I couldn’t do my own repairs.
I don’t think there is an American alternative, but there are dealerships that import them.
Going into decimal mm really isn’t necessary for anything. No one can be that precise (except milling).
The person before me did it, and they use commas instead of decimal points, so I assumed it was a standard car measurement in Europe.
3,635 mm is not 3.635 mm. If you want it’s 3.635 meters.
Depends on the system and where you live. In hand writing, i would use 3,635 mm for decimals. However, on computer 3’635 mm to write 3.635 m.
Personally, I like the high comma as a thousands separator as it removes possibilities to misread the number. But not everyone will agree.
Whoops.
I had to double check after I read your comment. Another benefit of metric. Even when you’re wrong there’s a good chance you’re right.
Not quite true. My grandfather was a carpenter specialised on furniture and windows. He would say everything off 0.1 mm or more is that bad that you have to redo the piece. And he was right: A 0.1 mm gap in a joint is an ugly and very visible gash in your work.
If the error is less than 0.1 mm it is still not good work, but you can hide it with glue and sawdust. It is still rather easy to detect if you run your fingernail over it, but at least it is not that visible anymore.
He used big machines and hand tools, but no milling, CNC or other computer controlled machines. So decimals in millimetres are definitely useful outside of milling and the precision is achievable - even for me, who isnt a professional woodworker.
First line of the article reads:
When he reserved the truck he had a house, but when he got the truck he had an apartment
That picture really makes it look like he’s just bad at parking
Yeah, if only he tried harder his tail end wouldn’t be hanging into the lane…
/s for those who need it.
Isnt SS ( stainless steel ) easily deformed into new shapes with a Hammer and a 2x4 plank?
Just hammer those plates inward until everything lines up inside the lines.
Your done and your welcome!
