Tesla's threats to sue Cybertruck buyers who resell their vehicles appear to be nothing but hot air, with the language removed from the Musk-owned automaker's terms and conditions just days after it appeared.
As we reported on Monday, Tesla's Motor Vehicle Order Agreement terms and conditions [PDF] were updated to add a section that specified Cybertruck buyers had to hang on to their vehicles for a year before trying to resell.
A new version [PDF] spotted yesterday is identical save for the Cybertruck language; luckily for El Reg readers, we snagged a copy of the old terms [PDF] in case this exact thing happened.
Under the old terms, Tesla Cybertruck owners who wanted to sell their vehicles within a year of purchase had to appeal to Tesla for the right to do so. Tesla reserved the right to repurchase the vehicle at a discounted price, and if a resale went ahead without the blessing of Elon Musk's capricious car company, considerable penalties were possible.
Among the threats for unsanctioned resale were a legal injunction, $50,000 fine and being banned from buying another Tesla in the future.
As we noted earlier this week, the only justification given by Tesla in its Cybertruck restrictions was the limited availability of the vehicle, which WedBush senior equity analyst Dan Ives opined was a solid reason for the move in a discussion with Bloomberg Radio.
Musk only knows if the Cybertruck will actually go on sale November 30, but the Cyberquad for Kids, a $1,900 Power Wheels-esque kids version of the truck, has recovered from a recall and is back on sale.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission forced a recall of the mini-quad Tesla and Radio Flyer partnered on last year over safety concerns. The Cyberquad is back on sale on Tesla's website and will "begin shipping late November 2023" with some changes made to satisfy regulators.
The new version, Model 915, is described as an "electric ride-on toy" that is definitely "not approved or intended for use as a youth ATV," according to Tesla. The new model was modified to add tire pressure warning labels, a label indicating it's only intended for use by Tesla superfans aged 9-12, and eliminated seat springs so that it won't be mistaken for an actual ATV.
"Think about all the reservations people have," Ives said. "The last thing you want to do is [say] Paul gets a Cybertruck and then all of a sudden flips it in three or six months."
"It's a supply and demand issue. This is going to be a tough vehicle to make [and] this is just them putting some guardrails in place," he added. The analyst, who admitted he has reserved a Cybertruck, said the move did come off poorly.
Porsche has implemented similar restrictions on reselling their limited-run vehicles, but the German automaker's penalties end at not allowing flippers to reserve future vehicles.
The Cybertruck now appears to not have those restrictions, or at least not in the form Tesla first imposed. It's not clear if Tesla will otherwise restrict resale, or if future updates to the terms of service will appear before the boxy behemoth finally goes on sale later this month.
We asked Tesla about the resale restriction changes, but haven't heard back.
Of course, November 30 could come and go – the Cybertruck has been delayed several times since it was announced in 2019, and Musk admitted Tesla "dug our own grave" with the Cybertruck – but keep your eye on eBay if you want to skip the reservation line. ®
Source: The register