Tesla Attempts To Shorten Cybertruck Wait List; Will Prevent Resales for One Year

November 13, 2023

By Eva Fox

Tesla is trying to prevent scalpers from reselling the Cybertruck

MatthewDR/X

Tesla is taking steps to prevent owners from flipping their Cybertrucks for a profit. The company intends to help prevent the trucks from being resold at inflated prices and potentially speed up the delivery of Cybertrucks to actual customers.

Preventing Cybertruck Flipping

The Cybertruck is a hotly anticipated vehicle. Although the exact official data remains unknown, Elon Musk mentioned that more than 1 million people have pre-ordered it, but didn't reveal the exact number of units preordered. Giga Texas has already started production and the first deliveries are scheduled to take place at the November 30th delivery event. The truck is a complex product, and it will take time to ramp up production. Tesla eventually plans to land on 200,000 units per year, meaning that it could take five years for Tesla to make it through its preorder list. Tesla seems to be actively working to shorten wait times for its truck by encouraging those who preordered solely for reselling at a profit to cancel their preorders.

This practice is relatively common in the automotive world, especially when it comes to highly anticipated vehicles such as the Cybertruck.

Tesla's Order Agreement for the Cybertruck

Like several other automakers, Tesla has added an important clause to the Terms and Conditions of the Motor Vehicle Order Agreement, as noticed by @TeslaTruckClub. When purchasing a Cybertruck, the customer will have to agree to the terms and conditions described therein. In particular, the company prohibits the resale of the truck to third parties for a period of one year from the date of delivery.

If the customer has conditions that require the sale of the vehicle, they must notify the company. Tesla can buy the Cybertruck back "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 refuses to purchase the vehicle, the customer will be able to resell it to a third party only after receiving written consent from the company. If the terms are violated, Tesla may seek an injunction to prevent the transfer of ownership of the Cybertruck or seek damages of $50,000 from the customer. The full text of the terms and conditions can be found at the bottom of the article.

Why Is This a Positive Condition?

While some consumers may consider such terms to be a violation of their rights, in reality, they are intended to protect them. Since the Cybertruck already has a fan base and is the most anticipated vehicle in automotive history, some people may try to take advantage of early preorders. Many of them have pre-ordered multiple trucks with the sole purpose of reselling them at inflated prices once they receive them. However, this is only part of the problem.

If Tesla can get scalpers to cancel their preorders, then customers who ordered the truck for themselves could be in for a shorter wait time.

Below is the clause in Tesla's Order Agreement:

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.

How had I never seen this in the Motor Vehicle Order Agreement before? pic.twitter.com/wI5FP05qV0
— Mike - CyberOwners.com (@TeslaTruckClub) November 11, 2023

Tesla Denies WSJ Report Claiming Board is Replacing Elon Musk

May 2, 2025

By Karan Singh

YouTube/NYT Events

Tesla has issued a strong denial in response to a Wall Street Journal report (Paywall) which claimed that Tesla’s Board of Directors had initiated a search for a new CEO.

In a statement posted directly on Tesla’s X account, Board Chair Robyn Denholm denied the report unequivocally. As per the statement, Tesla’s board did not reach out to recruiting firms in search of a new CEO.

Earlier today, there was a media report erroneously claiming that the Tesla Board had contacted recruitment firms to initiate a CEO search at the company.

This is absolutely false (and this was communicated to the media before the report was published).

The CEO of Tesla is…
— Tesla (@Tesla) May 1, 2025

Board Supports Elon

The statement reaffirmed the board’s position on Tesla’s current leadership and that the board is highly confident in Elon’s ability to continue executing Tesla’s plans and future growth.

This confidence behind Elon follows his recent statements made during the Q1 2025 Earnings Call that he would be stepping back from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the coming days and significantly reducing time spent there. Instead, he would be returning to focus on Tesla’s operations and the upcoming deployment of Robotaxi.

Shortly after the denial was posted, Elon Musk also commented on the report, specifically tagging the Wall Street Journal and criticizing their handling of the report.

It is an EXTREMELY BAD BREACH OF ETHICS that the @WSJ would publish a DELIBERATELY FALSE ARTICLE and fail to include an unequivocal denial beforehand by the Tesla board of directors! https://t.co/9xdypLGg3c
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 1, 2025

We’re glad to see Tesla and Elon set the matter straight, but there could have been a better way to spread this message and maybe even prevent the report from WSJ from going out.

We recently published an opinion piece on why Tesla needs its PR team back, and this specific incident is a good example. Relying solely on platforms like X for critical corporate communications - and in this case, late at night (1 AM EST), with limited reach outside the existing follower base seems like an ineffective way of communicating important company information.

We’d love to see Tesla really put some thought into managing its image, as it seems that several recent reports from major financial news organizations have apparently been wrong.

Either way, the board’s stance is clear - there is no active search underway, and Elon has the full backing and support of the board to lead Tesla toward the future.

Tesla Megapack: How Tesla Is Reinventing Global Energy Infrastructure

May 2, 2025

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

Tesla’s Megapack is rapidly becoming a key component in energy storage and grid modernization efforts worldwide. Though often associated with powering AI infrastructure or industrial operations, Megapack’s true strength lies in its ability to stabilize electrical grids during blackouts and brownouts.

In a recent behind-the-scenes reveal, Tesla showcased the impressive scale of Megapack production at its Mega Lathrop facility, along with real-world examples of how these systems are already transforming energy resilience across the globe.

Mega-Scale Megapack

Tesla is operating the largest utility-scale battery manufacturing facility in North America at Mega Lathrop, which has the capacity to produce 10,000 Megapacks annually. Thanks to a highly automated assembly process that uses over 30 welding robots to assemble the core Megapack structure. This is the largest manufacturing fixture Tesla uses— likely to only be matched by future developments at Mega Shanghai.

Tesla uses a highly automated powder coating process, utilizing over 90 robotic paint atomizers to apply more than 140 pounds of powder coat to each Megapack. This process delivers Tesla’s signature white reflective finish, engineered for long-term durability and corrosion resistance that lasts up to 20 years, even in harsh coastal or high-heat environments.

All of Megapack’s power electronics are designed and built in-house. Each Megapack uses 24 battery modules, electrical busing, and thermal management systems to ensure grid reliability and help to maximize energy density. The architecture pairs each inverter with a battery module to maximize energy availability and overall uptime. Plus, before each Megapack ships its way across the world, Tesla performs rigorous on-site quality control to ensure that the installation process is as seamless as possible.

Watch Tesla’s video of the manufacturing process below:

Megapack’s Real-World Impact: Hawaii

The core purpose of Megapack is to make power grids more stable and resilient while also reducing reliance on dirty peak power plants like coal. They achieve this by balancing energy supply and demand in real-time, smoothing out fluctuations from variable renewable sources like solar and wind, which helps to prevent grid shortages.

Hawaii actually provides the most real and down-to-earth example of Megapack’s impact. In mid-2024, the Kapolei Energy Storage facility in Hawaii came online. Hawaii utilized 258 Megapacks with a combined capacity of 565 MWh, successfully replacing the state’s last coal-fired power plant. This single facility can power approximately 20% of Oahu’s peak electricity needs by itself for approximately 4 hours.

The project is more than just removing coal plants, though. It serves as an example of Megapack’s grid integration and grid forming technology. The Kapolei Energy Storage facility can manage grid fluctuations caused by weather changes impacting renewable energy, improving stability and preventing blackouts. Thanks to their rapid inverter response times of under a millisecond, Megapacks participate in complex grid balancing activities, including fast frequency and voltage support, which helps to maintain grid balance throughout the day. Beyond that, Kapolei also allows Hawaii to black-start the grid in case of a major power outage that takes out a large section of the grid.

This functionality would be especially useful in Spain, where black-starting the grid took over eight hours recently and is still disrupting the day-to-day life of people there.

You can check out Megapack’s real-world impact in this video from Tesla below: