Texas, United States — Tesla caused quite the hubbub this week after reports circulated that the OEM would bar Cybertruck owners from selling their vehicles in the first year of ownership, lest they seek and obtain approval from Tesla itself.
Reports from recent purchasers of Model 3 and Model Y vehicles—who saw lines pertaining to the alleged anti-flip clause in their own contracts—suggested that Tesla reserved the right to sue Cybertruck owners that “flip” their vehicles in the first year of ownership for US$50,000. Reports began circulating this past Monday; by Tuesday morning, the clause was absent from the Cybertruck sales agreement.
Experts think the clause, though short-lived, shows Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s intentions for the Cybertruck to be a limited-production vehicle.
“These restrictions are rare, but they’re most commonly used on limited-production vehicles,” Stephen Beck of consultancy cg42 reported to Business Insider. “[Tesla] was clearly viewing this as a limited-production vehicle.”
This contradicts Tesla’s claim that its Cybertruck would be lucrative competition in the EV pickup market. The company alleges there are more than one million Cybertruck reservations.
Hyped-up EV trucks—like the GMC Hummer, Rivian R1T and Ford F-150 Lightning—have all been frequent spots on online auction platforms, with sales prices far greater than MSRPs.
