The saga of Tesla’s battle against flippers has taken a new turn, as a clause prohibiting the practice of purchasing the Cybertruck with the intent to resell it for a profit has been reinstated. And with good reason, because people are already trying to turn a profit on trucks before they have even been manufactured yet.
While the initial batch of ten or so Cybertrucks were delivered to customers late last month, Tesla has stated that scaling up production will require over a year. That means that a lot of people will be left waiting a long time for trucks that they may have pre-ordered years ago.
As a result, reservation holders have flocked to the internet in order to make a quick buck. Over on X, formerly Twitter, user @Greggertruck, posted about people trying to sell reservations for early Cybertruck production slots on eBay, with asking prices as high as $350,000.
Read: Forget $100k, Tesla Cybertruck Early Reservation Holders Offered $120K Foundation Series
While we have not been able to find that particular listing on our own, we did discover build slots with “Buy It Now” prices as high as $25,000. And that’s not just sellers being overly optimistic, as eBay shows that a slot for a Foundation Series trucks actually sold for $21,100. To be clear, that’s just for the build slot, as the buyer would still need to cover the total cost of the truck separately.
The listing promised to allow the buyer to order their vehicle today, but it’s not clear that Tesla will actually honor the pre-sale. A clause in the Cybertruck Motor Vehicle Pre-Order Agreement shows that Tesla “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.”
We have reached out to Tesla for comment on this story, but the automaker does not operate a media relations team. However, it appears that Tesla is taking a more serious stance against individuals it believes are flipping Cybertrucks. It’s been reported that a clause in the purchase contract of Cybertruck has returned, prohibiting buyers from selling their truck within the first year of their purchase.
The purchase contract for the Cybertruck does include provisions that allow owners to resell their vehicles under certain extenuating circumstances. However, it also includes clauses that give Tesla the right to fine owners $50,000 if it believes they intentionally flipped the vehicle. Furthermore, Tesla reserves the right to refuse to sell any vehicles to individuals it deems to be flippers in the future.
Tesla is hardly the only automaker to institute a no flipping policy, and John Cena’s experience with the Ford GT is likely the most famous example of an automaker taking a customer to court for reselling.
Whether or not the automaker’s efforts to implement these policies are effective remains to be seen, but based on the enthusiasm with which resellers have flocked to the Cybertruck, it may be wise of it to ensure that people are aware of its stance, one way or another.
