Leading American electric automaker Tesla has reintroduced the anti-flipping clause to its Cybertruck Motor Vehicle Purchase Agreement after discreetly withdrawing it on November 14, an apparent effort to appease customers ahead of the Delivery Event on November 30.
Now, the Musk-led company is once again threatening owners planning to resell their Cybertruck within the first 12 months of ownership with a $50,000 penalty.
What’s the issue?
Tesla warned that ramping up Cybertruck’s production would take more than a year due to its design complexity and other relevant aspects. The company was only able to deliver the first ten (or so) units at the recent Delivery Event.
Therefore, interested customers need to wait for a long time to receive their Cybertruck pre-orders. Alarmingly, reservation holders started emerging on various internet platforms to profit from the situation.
Tesla Cybertruck fan @Greggertruck shared in an X post that people are now trying to resell their reservations for early production slots on eBay, with asking prices reaching an astounding $350,000.
Tesla fights flippers
Tesla revived the clause in the Cybertruck Motor Vehicle Pre-Order Agreement that states the company “may unilaterally cancel any order that we believe has been made with a view toward resale of the Vehicle or that has otherwise been made in bad faith.”
InsideEVs noted that Tesla employed the “exact same language” it used in mid-November, per the screenshots of @Greggertruck.
As you can see in the document, a Cybertruck owner who has no official permission to resell the vehicle may have Tesla “seek injunctive relief to prevent the transfer of title of the vehicle.”
More importantly, the automaker can sue the violator for $50,000 or more. These consequences could already apply when “Tesla has reasonable belief that you are about to breach this provision.”
About the Cybertruck
Presented below are the key specifications of the Cybertruck, as released by Tesla’s official website:
| Tesla Cybertruck | Rear-Wheel Drive | All-Wheel Drive | CyberBeast |
| Price | $60,990 | $79,990 | $99,990 |
| Range | 250 miles | 340 miles | 320 miles |
| Range with extender??? | Not mentioned | 470+ miles | 440+ miles |
| Acceleration 0-60 mph | 6.5 sec | 3.9 sec | 2.6 sec |
| Top speed | 112 mph | 112 mph | 130 mph |
| Power | – | 600 hp | 845 hp |
| Torque | – | 7,435 pound-feet | 10,296 lb-ft |
| Towing capacity | – | Up to 11,000 lbs | Up to 11,000 lbs |
| Payload | – | Up to 2,500 lbs | Up to 2,500 lbs |
Going back, Tesla has yet to clarify whether the no-resale policy would only apply to the Foundation Series Tesla Cybertruck or also to regular retail orders.
Considering the people’s attempt to unjustly profit from the Cybertruck’s limited supply situation, it is unsurprising that Tesla is trying to prevent it. It would be crucial for the automaker to protect its customers and, most of all, its business against flippers.
