Yahoo Autos Tesla Threatens Customer With $50,000 Fine If He Tries To Sell His Cybertruck That Doesn’t Fit In His New Parking Spot
The Tesla Cybertruck is unlike most trucks that have come before it, and thus it has attracted a new set of buyers who wouldn’t normally drive a big pickup. Owning and driving a truck that’s over 18 feet long, nearly 8 feet wide, and built like a Frigidaire isn’t for the faint of heart, as one Salt Lake City man recently found out when he tried to negotiate a way to get rid of his Cybertruck.
Blaine Raddon reserved a Cybertruck after watching the vehicle’s launch online, but since he ordered the truck his living situation changed. He and his wife separated and he moved from a home with a garage into an apartment complex with tight parking slots. Once he picked up his new truck and realized it wouldn’t fit comfortably into his parking spot, he reached out to the dealer that delivered his truck to see if he could return it. 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:
”Making me keep a truck that does not fit my circumstances appears to be unfair and not at all the spirit of the no sale language in the contract,” he added in the note.
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. He also said his building is okay with him keeping the vehicle there, but they won’t be held liable if the truck gets damaged by another car while protruding from the parking spot.
Tesla did not respond a request for comment.
A week after sending his longer note to Tesla in an attempt to appeal the decision, Raddon said he’s still waiting for a response
There are a few things about this situation that boggle my mind. Raddon separated from his wife and had to move into an apartment building that doesn’t have the space to comfortably house his new truck, and Tesla’s response was a reminder that if he tries to sell it he could be sued for $50,000 and be barred from ever purchasing another Tesla again. How can anyone justify this treatment? How can people continue to make excuses for such an objectively flawed and compromised vehicle? It’s looking like Stockholm syndrome to me.