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You probably had case for a lawsuit, but not worth the effort. You story probably lost more business for Telsa than they would have paid you damages. (Maybe th

You probably had case for a lawsuit, but not worth the effort. You story probably lost more business for Telsa than they would have paid you damages. (Maybe they'll sue you for libel)

vanattab 11y ago
It likely that this article put whoever told him Elon was driving the car around in some hot water. I would not want to be that guy when Elon reads the headlines. I am not saying Elon is vindictive or anything just that it would be a uncomfortable position to be in. It's likely he thought the buyer would think it was neat that Elon was driving around in the same car he was going to get... if so he was wrong.
- awakeasleep 11y ago
  I hope Elon personally takes responsibility for this. The person who told the author what was going on is the only person in the story who provided good customer service!
- dkokelley 11y ago
  I would think that too, but it seemed that because of the testing, the vehicle was no longer available to the customer, and would retire as an R&D vehicle. From the write up, Tesla pre-sold a used vehicle, and then was unable to fulfill the sale. The customer's option seemed to be "find a different car".
  - Vik1ng 11y ago
    And if Elon had actually acknowledged this it would have been much easier for the Owner Advisor to find an alternative and Elon could easily have made the company pay a $20k difference.
- AndyV91 11y ago
  I mean, I'd be pretty excited to learn Elon had been driving the car. However, they did mention that because of the changes they've made to test the new software he wouldn't be able to receive the car. If the company had just said "We're sorry, here's another car with all the features you wanted" but they didn't they dropped the ball.
- fredophile 11y ago
  Why would he think it was neat that Elon had driven his car? If I was buying a used car I'd be annoyed that someone else was adding extra mileage to the car I'd purchased.
  - vanattab 11y ago
    I don't know. I would think it was kinda neat because I got alot of respect for Elon but I would also kinda wonder about the extra mileage. EDIT: Message to the down voters I am not saying its rational that I think it would be kinda neat. I am just honest enough with myself to recognize that I am not a purely logical beast.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
- ma2rten 11y ago
  If I was Elon Musk, I would promote that guy and put everyone else in "hot water" for not escalating this issue.
crispyambulance 11y ago
A lawsuit for something like this would have been ludicrous. Clearly, the OP was trying to purchase his car through a discount channel which this relatively new company had not completely ironed out. Mistakes happen, people get embarrassed, no one wants to tell Mr Musk "No", and no one wants to be the focal point of a customer complaint which they can't really do anything about. It seems like a screw-up on Tesla's part. Stuff like this happens all the time at good companies and this one has a funny twist but it doesn't signify anything as far as Tesla's ability to deliver, IMHO.
- brandonmenc 11y ago
  > relatively new company They've been around for 13 years and have been selling cars for coming up on 10. Plenty of time to make sure customers aren't jerked around when making $100k purchases.
  - crispyambulance 11y ago
    They've been selling cars since the first roadster in 2008 and only sold ~500 in their first year. They're still "a baby" when it comes to car companies.
    - mynameisvlad 11y ago
      8 years is still plenty of time to figure out your basic purchasing channels, regardless how long it is compared to other car companies.
jacquesm 11y ago
> Maybe they'll sue you for libel Why do you think they would do that? I don't see anything that would come close to the bar that you'd need to meet to be able to sue for libel in the article.
URSpider94 11y ago
No, and no. What damages could the plaintiff have shown here? He got his money back, and Tesla kept the car. He had never executed a bill of sale for the car. While what Tesla did looks like horrible customer service, there was no damage here, any more than when you order the daily special at a restaurant and the waiter comes out to tell you it's sold out. As for libel, if he is telling the truth, then in the US, it can not be libelous. The saying goes "truth is an absolute defense against libel" IANAL ...

You probably had case for a lawsuit, but not worth the effort. You story probably lost more business for Telsa than they would have paid you damages. (Maybe they'll sue you for libel)

vanattab 11y ago

It likely that this article put whoever told him Elon was driving the car around in some hot water. I would not want to be that guy when Elon reads the headlines. I am not saying Elon is vindictive or anything just that it would be a uncomfortable position to be in. It's likely he thought the buyer would think it was neat that Elon was driving around in the same car he was going to get... if so he was wrong.

awakeasleep 11y ago
I hope Elon personally takes responsibility for this. The person who told the author what was going on is the only person in the story who provided good customer service!
dkokelley 11y ago
I would think that too, but it seemed that because of the testing, the vehicle was no longer available to the customer, and would retire as an R&D vehicle. From the write up, Tesla pre-sold a used vehicle, and then was unable to fulfill the sale. The customer's option seemed to be "find a different car".
- Vik1ng 11y ago
  And if Elon had actually acknowledged this it would have been much easier for the Owner Advisor to find an alternative and Elon could easily have made the company pay a $20k difference.
AndyV91 11y ago
I mean, I'd be pretty excited to learn Elon had been driving the car. However, they did mention that because of the changes they've made to test the new software he wouldn't be able to receive the car. If the company had just said "We're sorry, here's another car with all the features you wanted" but they didn't they dropped the ball.
fredophile 11y ago
Why would he think it was neat that Elon had driven his car? If I was buying a used car I'd be annoyed that someone else was adding extra mileage to the car I'd purchased.
- vanattab 11y ago
  I don't know. I would think it was kinda neat because I got alot of respect for Elon but I would also kinda wonder about the extra mileage. EDIT: Message to the down voters I am not saying its rational that I think it would be kinda neat. I am just honest enough with myself to recognize that I am not a purely logical beast.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
ma2rten 11y ago
If I was Elon Musk, I would promote that guy and put everyone else in "hot water" for not escalating this issue.

crispyambulance 11y ago

A lawsuit for something like this would have been ludicrous. Clearly, the OP was trying to purchase his car through a discount channel which this relatively new company had not completely ironed out. Mistakes happen, people get embarrassed, no one wants to tell Mr Musk "No", and no one wants to be the focal point of a customer complaint which they can't really do anything about. It seems like a screw-up on Tesla's part. Stuff like this happens all the time at good companies and this one has a funny twist but it doesn't signify anything as far as Tesla's ability to deliver, IMHO.

brandonmenc 11y ago
> relatively new company They've been around for 13 years and have been selling cars for coming up on 10. Plenty of time to make sure customers aren't jerked around when making $100k purchases.
- crispyambulance 11y ago
  They've been selling cars since the first roadster in 2008 and only sold ~500 in their first year. They're still "a baby" when it comes to car companies.
  - mynameisvlad 11y ago
    8 years is still plenty of time to figure out your basic purchasing channels, regardless how long it is compared to other car companies.

jacquesm 11y ago

> Maybe they'll sue you for libel Why do you think they would do that? I don't see anything that would come close to the bar that you'd need to meet to be able to sue for libel in the article.

URSpider94 11y ago

No, and no. What damages could the plaintiff have shown here? He got his money back, and Tesla kept the car. He had never executed a bill of sale for the car. While what Tesla did looks like horrible customer service, there was no damage here, any more than when you order the daily special at a restaurant and the waiter comes out to tell you it's sold out. As for libel, if he is telling the truth, then in the US, it can not be libelous. The saying goes "truth is an absolute defense against libel" IANAL ...