The Tesla Cybertruck is unlike most trucks that have come before it, and thus it has attracted a new set of buyers who wouldn’t normally drive a big pickup. Owning and driving a truck that’s over 18 feet long, nearly 8 feet wide, and built like a Frigidaire isn’t for the faint of heart, as one Salt Lake City man recently found out when he tried to negotiate a way to get rid of his Cybertruck.
Blaine Raddon reserved a Cybertruck after watching the vehicle’s launch online, but since he ordered the truck, his living situation changed. He and his wife separated, and he moved from a home with a garage into an apartment complex with tight parking slots. Once he picked up his new truck and realized it wouldn’t fit comfortably into his parking spot, he reached out to the dealer that delivered his truck to see if he could return it. The manager told Raddon that his situation wouldn’t likely warrant an unforeseen circumstance that would trigger Tesla’s re-purchase of the truck, and reminded him that he signed a Tesla Vehicle Order Agreement which states if a Cybertruck owner sells the EV during the first year, they can be fined $50,000 and be banned from buying future Teslas. According to Business Insider:
”Making me keep a truck that does not fit my circumstances appears to be unfair and not at all the spirit of the no-sale language in the contract,” he added in the note.
Raddon told BI that he’s a rule-follower and he doesn’t plan to go against Tesla’s verdict on the matter or hire a lawyer to dispute the decision. He also said his building is okay with him keeping the vehicle there, but they won’t be held liable if the truck gets damaged by another car while protruding from the parking spot.
Raddon said he hasn’t heard back from Tesla a week after sending the company a longer note in an effort to challenge the ruling. I find myself scratching my head over a couple things regarding this circumstance. Tesla’s answer to Raddon’s separation from his wife and forced move into an apartment complex without enough room for his new vehicle was to warn him that if he tried to sell it, he risked being sued for $50,000 and would never be allowed to buy another Tesla.
