The owner of a Tesla Model 3 says he accidentally ordered a $4,280 software upgrade for his car and has been desperately trying to get a refund, but to no avail.
Dr. Ali Vaziri believes the purchase for the Model 3’s Enhanced Autopilot upgrade was a “butt dial,” revealing that he had linked a credit card to his Tesla account in order to pay a monthly fee for the car’s premium connectivity functions. He got quite a surprise when he discovered he had inadvertently purchased Enhanced Autopilot.
“My phone was in my jeans,” Vaziri told CNBC. “Took it out, put it on this charger that comes with your Tesla and that’s it. A minute later? I got the text. I’ve never purchased anything through the Tesla app before.”
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Vaziri says that after receiving a mobile alert from his bank, he called his local Tesla store and service center. They re-directed him to a customer service hotline, where he requested a refund. They couldn’t help him and told him to press the refund button in the Tesla app. Vaziri told the customer service rep there was no refund button, nor a refund button on the confirmation email sent to him after the purchase. The Tesla owner was forced to process a stop payment request through his credit card company.
Just saw this today. Tesla refunds in general should be easy to get electronically & certainly through customer service. Will he addressed.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 15, 2020
This isn’t the first time complaints have been made about Tesla’s customer service and the difficulty in processing refunds. In January, another Tesla owner raised concerns about accidentally making a purchase through the app and being unable to get a refund. Elon Musk later replied on Twitter that the refund issues would be addressed.
Apparently, though, they still remain. In September, the owner of another Model 3 complained after inadvertently purchasing a $2,000 acceleration upgrade, expressing bewilderment that the app doesn’t require a password to confirm purchases.
Just butt-purchased (like butt-dialed) a $2000 upgrade to my @Tesla Model 3. Blows my mind that they don't require a password to confirm that purchase. Already filed for a refund but 🤷♂️ we will see if they allow it.@elonmusk how is this possible?
— Stefan Peterson (@StefanTPeterson) September 2, 2020