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I am not calling the poster a liar but there is more to this story that we are not being told. If his name wasn’t on the pink slip he never really owned it and

I am not calling the poster a liar but there is more to this story that we are not being told. If his name wasn’t on the pink slip he never really owned it and he specifically doesn’t say if the bank’s name was on the pink slip. Horrible customer service regardless, but there is more to this story.

93po 3y ago
I agree. He said he paid both with cashiers check and credit card and so my assumption is that a bank temporarily holds ownership (and financial liability) while the credit card charge becomes fully settled. I assume there was some issue with the settlement of the credit card payment (likely not the posters fault) and so there appeared to be an owed balance. My guess is the OP did not in fact fully legally own the car at the time of towing. Which is further supported by him not having the title and financing having to change the name on the pending title This looks more like a bank’s fault than Tesla’s fault though of course Tesla has a responsibility for the banks it chooses to affiliate with
- lapcat 3y ago
  This is incorrect. "Credit cards are only accepted for the initial order fee." The order fee is $250. https://www.tesla.com/support/ordering#payment https://www.tesla.com/support/ordering#payment Also, as the Reddit post says, "Cashiers check means the amount of money is withdrawn from the bank when it’s ISSUED not cashed." Thus, nothing remained to be settled. Everything was fully paid by the time the vehicle was delivered.
  - 93po 3y ago
    Why would he even mention paying with card if it was only $250?
    - lapcat 3y ago
      I don't know. It does seem a bit irrelevant, but in any case credit card charges are settled very quickly, at most a few days. The order fee (which is nonrefundable) is paid of course at the time of order, so it would definitely have been settled by the time the vehicle was delivered.
      - pseg134 3y ago
        So his name would have been on the title. If you buy a car but your name isn’t on the title you didn’t actually buy the car, whom ever is on the title did.
        lapcat 3y ago
        > So his name would have been on the title. If you buy a car but your name isn’t on the title you didn’t actually buy the car, whom ever is on the title did. Are you claiming that mistakes are never made? Clearly a mistake was made in this case. From the Tesla representative: "I am having the team fully post the funds of the cashier's check. I am redrafting the documents and title/lien to your name instead of [BANK]." Of course, "fully post the funds" is a meaningless load of garbage. (What would it even mean to "partially post" the funds from a cashier's check?) Tesla is admitting that they had the cashier's check the whole time, and cashier's checks don't bounce, which is the whole point of a cashier's check from a bank.
ufmace 3y ago
Yeah it smells to me like the OP/owner never got the title, didn't follow up on why he hadn't gotten the title yet, and didn't give Tesla a working way to contact him. So it's a relatively minor paperwork screwup which should have been resolved easily but was drawn out and escalated due to errors on both sides. The remote lockout is really lame and attention-getting, especially for the tech crowd, but any auto finance org would have repossessed in that situation. And I'm sure every auto finance org has experience with deadbeats who don't pay and ignore all communication attempts until the repo man comes.
- lapcat 3y ago
  > any auto finance org would have repossessed in that situation. And I'm sure every auto finance org has experience with deadbeats who don't pay and ignore all communication attempts until the repo man comes. That wasn't the situation. The vehicle was already paid for upfront with a bank cashier's check, which the Tesla representative admitted that Tesla had the entire time. There was no missed payment. You never get your car repossessed if you never financed it in the first place. That's probably why the emails sounded like a scam.
  - ufmace 3y ago
    They thought it was the situation. It was a mistake, which should have been fixed easily, but they had no way to get in touch with the owner.
    - alphabettsy 3y ago
      He contacted them before it was towed. They still had an opportunity to correct the mistake.

93po 3y ago

I agree. He said he paid both with cashiers check and credit card and so my assumption is that a bank temporarily holds ownership (and financial liability) while the credit card charge becomes fully settled. I assume there was some issue with the settlement of the credit card payment (likely not the posters fault) and so there appeared to be an owed balance. My guess is the OP did not in fact fully legally own the car at the time of towing. Which is further supported by him not having the title and financing having to change the name on the pending title This looks more like a bank’s fault than Tesla’s fault though of course Tesla has a responsibility for the banks it chooses to affiliate with

lapcat 3y ago
This is incorrect. "Credit cards are only accepted for the initial order fee." The order fee is $250. https://www.tesla.com/support/ordering#payment https://www.tesla.com/support/ordering#payment Also, as the Reddit post says, "Cashiers check means the amount of money is withdrawn from the bank when it’s ISSUED not cashed." Thus, nothing remained to be settled. Everything was fully paid by the time the vehicle was delivered.
- 93po 3y ago
  Why would he even mention paying with card if it was only $250?
  - lapcat 3y ago
    I don't know. It does seem a bit irrelevant, but in any case credit card charges are settled very quickly, at most a few days. The order fee (which is nonrefundable) is paid of course at the time of order, so it would definitely have been settled by the time the vehicle was delivered.
    - pseg134 3y ago
      So his name would have been on the title. If you buy a car but your name isn’t on the title you didn’t actually buy the car, whom ever is on the title did.
      - lapcat 3y ago
        > So his name would have been on the title. If you buy a car but your name isn’t on the title you didn’t actually buy the car, whom ever is on the title did. Are you claiming that mistakes are never made? Clearly a mistake was made in this case. From the Tesla representative: "I am having the team fully post the funds of the cashier's check. I am redrafting the documents and title/lien to your name instead of [BANK]." Of course, "fully post the funds" is a meaningless load of garbage. (What would it even mean to "partially post" the funds from a cashier's check?) Tesla is admitting that they had the cashier's check the whole time, and cashier's checks don't bounce, which is the whole point of a cashier's check from a bank.

ufmace 3y ago

Yeah it smells to me like the OP/owner never got the title, didn't follow up on why he hadn't gotten the title yet, and didn't give Tesla a working way to contact him. So it's a relatively minor paperwork screwup which should have been resolved easily but was drawn out and escalated due to errors on both sides. The remote lockout is really lame and attention-getting, especially for the tech crowd, but any auto finance org would have repossessed in that situation. And I'm sure every auto finance org has experience with deadbeats who don't pay and ignore all communication attempts until the repo man comes.

lapcat 3y ago
> any auto finance org would have repossessed in that situation. And I'm sure every auto finance org has experience with deadbeats who don't pay and ignore all communication attempts until the repo man comes. That wasn't the situation. The vehicle was already paid for upfront with a bank cashier's check, which the Tesla representative admitted that Tesla had the entire time. There was no missed payment. You never get your car repossessed if you never financed it in the first place. That's probably why the emails sounded like a scam.
- ufmace 3y ago
  They thought it was the situation. It was a mistake, which should have been fixed easily, but they had no way to get in touch with the owner.
  - alphabettsy 3y ago
    He contacted them before it was towed. They still had an opportunity to correct the mistake.