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Imagine getting to break your contract and then sue to try to get your initial deposit back. Isn't that the whole point of a deposit?

FabHK 6y ago
But what if the supplier cannot deliver what they promised? If Tesla cannot deliver the <XZY>, can they keep your deposit?
koolba 6y ago
Not necessarily. A refundable deposit is not unheard of. It's a good way to verify that your customer's are truly interested and at least partially capable of paying for the final product. For example, Tesla's deposit is refundable: https://www.tesla.com/support/model-3-reservation-deposit https://www.tesla.com/support/model-3-reservation-deposit
- blinding-streak 6y ago
  Except that in practice, getting your refund back is not easy at all. Tesla marketing and Tesla reality are often far apart. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/21/tesla-refund-and-return-problems-detailed.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/21/tesla-refund-and-return-prob... https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-20/tesla-would-be-customers-grouse-as-deposit-refunds-take-months https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-20/tesla-wou... https://forums.tesla.com/forum/forums/deposit-refund-3 https://forums.tesla.com/forum/forums/deposit-refund-3
  - toomuchtodo 6y ago
    Tesla has gotten better. A friend had their Solar Roof deposit returned within a week after Tesla cancelled their order. Will it be just as easy if Cybertruck doesn't live up to the hype? I'll report back.
    - blinding-streak 6y ago
      That is indeed a good sign, and might have a positive effect on people's willingness to make a deposit in the first place.
      - toomuchtodo 6y ago
        Agreed. Deposits signal intent to both Tesla and the capital markets they rely on, but you have to treat the customer relationship with respect to not poison the well.
throwanem 6y ago
Their argument seems to be roughly akin to a claim on the common law's implicit warranty of merchantability. You could also think of it as a "lemon law" claim, maybe. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out, for Boeing as well as for Norwegian. I doubt they're the only airline that's been considering this kind of action.
x86_64Ubuntu 6y ago
I'm sure the deposit has conditions on it. No one would ever put down so much money just to eat all of the future risk.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
ceejayoz 6y ago
If the people you gave the deposit to break their side of the contract, why not?
raverbashing 6y ago
Imagine selling a(n extremely expensive) product that does not do what it was promised to do and is a money sink even when not running
humanlion87 6y ago
Couldn't the contract also have some clause with respect to timelines for delivery. Then they'd have the right to sue and get their money back.
jeltz 6y ago
Sounds perfectly normal if the reason for breaking the contract is failure to deliver.
ashtonkem 6y ago
Imagine collecting a deposit, not delivering a usable product, and expecting to keep the deposit.

FabHK 6y ago

But what if the supplier cannot deliver what they promised? If Tesla cannot deliver the <XZY>, can they keep your deposit?

koolba 6y ago

Not necessarily. A refundable deposit is not unheard of. It's a good way to verify that your customer's are truly interested and at least partially capable of paying for the final product. For example, Tesla's deposit is refundable: https://www.tesla.com/support/model-3-reservation-deposit https://www.tesla.com/support/model-3-reservation-deposit

blinding-streak 6y ago
Except that in practice, getting your refund back is not easy at all. Tesla marketing and Tesla reality are often far apart. https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/21/tesla-refund-and-return-problems-detailed.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/21/tesla-refund-and-return-prob... https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-20/tesla-would-be-customers-grouse-as-deposit-refunds-take-months https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-20/tesla-wou... https://forums.tesla.com/forum/forums/deposit-refund-3 https://forums.tesla.com/forum/forums/deposit-refund-3
- toomuchtodo 6y ago
  Tesla has gotten better. A friend had their Solar Roof deposit returned within a week after Tesla cancelled their order. Will it be just as easy if Cybertruck doesn't live up to the hype? I'll report back.
  - blinding-streak 6y ago
    That is indeed a good sign, and might have a positive effect on people's willingness to make a deposit in the first place.
    - toomuchtodo 6y ago
      Agreed. Deposits signal intent to both Tesla and the capital markets they rely on, but you have to treat the customer relationship with respect to not poison the well.

throwanem 6y ago

Their argument seems to be roughly akin to a claim on the common law's implicit warranty of merchantability. You could also think of it as a "lemon law" claim, maybe. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out, for Boeing as well as for Norwegian. I doubt they're the only airline that's been considering this kind of action.

x86_64Ubuntu 6y ago

I'm sure the deposit has conditions on it. No one would ever put down so much money just to eat all of the future risk.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

ceejayoz 6y ago

If the people you gave the deposit to break their side of the contract, why not?

raverbashing 6y ago

Imagine selling a(n extremely expensive) product that does not do what it was promised to do and is a money sink even when not running

humanlion87 6y ago

Couldn't the contract also have some clause with respect to timelines for delivery. Then they'd have the right to sue and get their money back.

jeltz 6y ago

Sounds perfectly normal if the reason for breaking the contract is failure to deliver.

ashtonkem 6y ago

Imagine collecting a deposit, not delivering a usable product, and expecting to keep the deposit.