Telsa has a simple message and plan for folks who want to flip early Cybertrucks as part of its updated Vehicle Purchase Agreement: don’t do it or we’ll sue you. On top of that, if a situation did arise where you have to sell your early Cybertruck, you’ve got to give Tesla first right of refusal before selling it to the general public. If you don’t tell Tesla about your Cybertruck sale, the company could use you for at least $50,000 and may not sell you any future cars.
The clause was added to Tesla’s Motor Vehicle Purchase agreement on its website. Scroll down to the “No Resellers” section and you’ll see a clause that starts with “For Cybertruck Only.” That’s where things get spicy.
For Cybertruck Only: You understand and acknowledge that the Cybertruck will first be released in limited quantity. You agree that you will not sell or otherwise attempt to sell the Vehicle within the first year following your Vehicle’s delivery date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if you must sell the Vehicle within the first year following its delivery date for any unforeseen reason, and Tesla agrees that your reason warrants an exception to its no reseller policy, you agree to notify Tesla in writing and give Tesla reasonable time to purchase the Vehicle from you at its sole discretion and at the purchase price listed on your Final Price Sheet less $0.25/mile driven, reasonable wear and tear, and the cost to repair the Vehicle to Tesla’s Used Vehicle Cosmetic and Mechanical Standards. If Tesla declines to purchase your Vehicle, you may then resell your Vehicle to a third party only after receiving written consent from Tesla. You agree that in the event you breach this provision, or Tesla has reasonable belief that you are about to breach this provision, Tesla may seek injunctive relief to prevent the transfer of title of the Vehicle or demand liquidated damages from you in the amount of $50,000 or the value received as consideration for the sale or transfer, whichever is greater. Tesla may also refuse to sell you any future vehicles.
Right now, it’s hard to say exactly what the Cybertruck’s flipping market will be. Still, considering we’ve seen folks on forums talk about multiple allocations of the truck, we wouldn’t be surprised if there are a lot of people out there looking to make some money off the long-awaited electric pickup.
There are still a lot of other unknowns as well. Hell, we don’t even really know how much it’ll cost to buy in the first place or when full-scale production will begin. Deliveries are slated to start by the end of November, but who really knows? CEO Elon Musk and Tesla have pushed back Cybertruck production plans over and over again for the past few years. Recently, Musk said it would take a year to 18 months before the truck can become a significant cash-flow contributor, and he hopes production can hit a quarter million vehicles annually by 2025. There’s still a mighty long way to go before that.