8 Years After The Tesla Roadster Was Announced, Buyers Want Their $50,000 Back

The Tesla Roadster was announced back in 2017 with production originally expected for 2020. Based on the automaker's promises of a 1.9-second 0-60 time, a top speed of over 250 miles per hour, and a range of over 600 miles, plenty of buyers were eager to put up a $50,000 reservation fee. To secure the privilege of buying a Tesla Roadster, customers had to put an immediate $5,000 payment on a credit or debit card and wire the remaining $45,000 within 10 days. The Roadster has since been delayed numerous times, and many of those customers are taking to forums and social media to complain how hard it was to get their supposedly refundable deposits back. 

According to an October 2024 report from BBC's Top Gear,  Tesla CEO Elon Musk told investors on a conference call "The reason it has not come out yet is because the Roadster is not just the icing on the cake, it's the cherry on the icing on the cake." That bit of marketing analogy doublespeak was little comfort to impatient buyers, especially coming eight months after Musk revealed major updates on the new Roadster and promised it would ship by 2025. But barely a dozen weeks remain in the year as of this writing, and Tesla is still taking reservations for a car that may never come.

Even though Tesla clearly stated from the outset that Roadster buyers could cancel their orders at any time, actually getting the $50,000 returned has proven to be a boondoggle for many. The website's 'manage reservation' page has no cancel button and provides only an email address and phone number. Tesla customers have complained that neither contact method yields a timely response, and those who were lucky or persistent enough to reach a Tesla representative found those folks to be less than willing to help. Buyers also reported sending multiple cancellation requests via different channels without getting a response.

Some people said they got their $45,000 wire payments refunded but were facing problems chasing down the remaining $5,000. Others said they got the initial $5,000 payment back quickly but were waiting for the rest. Tesla circumvents U.S. auto dealership laws by selling directly to customers, which means that dissatisfied customers are left dealing directly with a company that hasn't offered much of an explanation of how the refund process is being handled. 

Reading the Tesla Roadster Reservation Agreement carefully could give anyone who has already plunked down a $50,000 deposit mixed feelings. The agreement specifically states that the Roadster is "still under development at the time you entered into
this Agreement and so we cannot guarantee when your vehicle will actually be delivered." The agreement also states that customer deposits will not be held in escrow or a trust, which means that there are few restrictions on how Tesla can use that money. The document also says that the deposit alone "does not constitute the purchase or order of a vehicle"  and further establishes that unless a legitimate purchase agreement has been signed that the "Reservation may be cancelled at any time through your Tesla Account and for any reason, by either you or us, in which case you will receive a full refund of your Reservation Payment." 

It also requires potential disputes to be resolved through arbitration, which effectively prevents class-action lawsuits. In summary, the agreement gives Tesla the legal flexibility to delay the Roadster and string customers along for as long as it likes, although the promise of a refund is in digital writing. The Cybertruck was subject to a half-dozen recalls in 2024, but at least that model made it to production. As for what happened to the Tesla Roadster, it's safe to take any news from Tesla or Musk with a tiny grain of salt since no concrete information regarding the model has been forthcoming since it was first discussed two presidential terms ago.