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

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

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Tesla Increases Price of Model S; Starts Offering Free Lifetime Supercharging

Not a Tesla App

For the first time in quite a while, Tesla has increased the price of one of its vehicle offerings. The Model S Long Range and the Model S Plaid have both received a hefty price increase. However, not all is bad - as Tesla also added a new benefit for buyers.

Price Increase

The price increase for the Model S is $5,000 - currently only in the United States. This price increase will likely impact other markets, including Canada, in the coming days.

The Model S Long Range now starts at $79,990, while the Model S Plaid now starts at $94,990. The Model S and Model X now have the same starting price. Interestingly, that’s also the same pricing point for the Cybertruck AWD and Cyberbeast Trimotor non-Foundation Series. 

The vehicle configuration does not appear to have changed, so the new pricing is simply an increase rather than the addition or removal of features. Tesla previously cut the price of the Model S and Model X by 15% in 2023, so this could simply be an adjustment to ensure that the vehicle pricing stays in line with inflation and other factors.

Free Lifetime Supercharging

For those on the fence about ordering a Model S, Tesla has brought back Free Lifetime Supercharging when you order a new Model S on or after December 13, 2024. As always, Free Lifetime Supercharging is restricted to the buyer’s Tesla account and to that specific vehicle. It cannot be transferred to another vehicle or another owner after ownership transfer. It’s worth noting, that it also doesn’t exclude the owner from receiving Supercharger idle fees or congestion fees. There is currently no end date for this promotion.

There are currently no changes to the Model X, neither a price increase nor the addition of Lifetime Superchargering. However, when Tesla makes changes to one of their premium vehicles, it usually affects the other one as well. So be on the lookout for potential changes to the Model X offering in the coming days.

We’ve seen Tesla value Lifetime Supercharging at $5,000, so this falls in line with the price increase we’re seeing. It’s possible that Tesla will begin to bring back Lifetime Supercharging as a perk for buying into their more premium Model S and Model X cars, or this could be another temporary promotion to get buyers who are on the fence to go ahead and make their purchase while this promotion lasts.

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Tesla’s Optimus Robot Learns to Walk Without Vision [VIDEO]

Optimus Falls - but catches itself!

Not a Tesla App

Tesla recently showed off a demo of Optimus, its humanoid robot, walking around in moderately challenging terrain—not on a flat surface but on dirt and slopes. These things can be difficult for a humanoid robot, especially during the training cycle.

Daily walks help clear your mind pic.twitter.com/dUsW58trS6

— Tesla Optimus (@Tesla_Optimus) December 9, 2024

A Look Behind the Curtain

Most interestingly, Milan Kovac, VP of Engineering for Optimus, clarified what it takes to get Optimus to this stage. Let’s break down what he said.

Optimus is Blind

Optimus is getting seriously good at walking now - it can keep its balance over uneven ground - even while walking blind. Tesla is currently using just the sensors, all powered by a neural net running on the embedded computer. 

Essentially, Tesla is building Optimus from the ground up, relying on as much additional data as possible while it trains vision. This is similar to how they train FSD on vehicles, using LiDAR rigs to validate the vision system’s accuracy. While Optimus doesn’t have LiDAR, it relies on all those other sensors on board, many of which will likely become simplified as vision takes over as the primary sensor.

Today, Optimus is walking blind, but it’s able to react almost instantly to changes in the terrain underneath it, even if it falls or slips. 

What’s Next?

Next up, Tesla AI will be adding vision to Optimus - helping complete the neural net. Remember, Optimus runs on the same overall AI stack as FSD - in fact, Optimus uses an FSD computer and an offshoot of the FSD stack for vision-based tasks.

Milan mentions they’re planning on adding vision to help the robot plan ahead and improve its walking gait. While the zombie shuffle is iconic and a little bit amusing, getting humanoid robots to walk like humans is actually difficult.

There’s plenty more, too - including better responsiveness to velocity and direction commands and learning to fall and stand back up. Falling while protecting yourself to minimize damage is something natural to humans - but not exactly natural to something like a robot. Training it to do so is essential in keeping the robot, the environment around it, and the people it is interacting with safe.

We’re excited to see what’s coming with Optimus next because it is already getting started in some fashion in Tesla’s factories.

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