6 June 2024
Tesla is refusing to let a customer return or sell his Cybertruck after he discovered it was too big to fit in his parking spot.
Blaine Raddon said he ordered the stainless steel pickup when he had a house with ample driveway space. Now separated from his wife, he has an apartment with a parking garage that can’t easily accommodate it.
When Raddon went back to Tesla’s store in Salt Lake City to discuss his options, the manager disagreed that the change in circumstances merited a buyback or exception to the automaker’s ban on reselling less than a year after purchase. Tesla says it can sue resellers for up to $50,000 and ban them from buying future vehicles.
“I am trying to remedy an unfortunate circumstance that the Cybertruck is not manageable in my living situation,” Raddon said in his email response to Tesla, 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.”
Raddon said the truck is “so much bigger” than he expected, making it hard to get in and out between other vehicles and the walls of the garage. A Cybertruck is 3 inches wider than a Ford F-150, though its length measures 9 inches less.
He said management of his apartment complex has agreed to let the oversized vehicle stay as long as he doesn’t hold them responsible for any damage, and that maneuvering into the spot requires a difficult four-point turn.
Raddon told Business Insider that he plans to go along with Tesla’s decision and won’t challenge it in court. He deleted his posting on X, the social media platform owned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, complaining about the situation.