As Tesla gears up to start deliveries of the Model Y electric crossover in Australia, some enterprising buyers have already listed their orders for sale.
As of Monday morning, at least seven Tesla Model Ys have been listed for sale on Facebook Marketplace within 500km of Melbourne and Sydney, despite not one customer vehicle having yet been delivered.
The sellers are clearly trying to cash in on pent up demand, with Tesla estimated to have received north of 15,000 orders, now stretching out to early 2023, and other car makers only able to make limited offerings in their hundred for competing electric SUVs.
Some of those are sellers attempting to sell their “place in the queue” rather than the vehicle itself, as payment may not yet have been paid to Tesla.
The highest asking price currently is $99,985 for a blue RWD Model Y that currently costs $79,693 driveaway in Victoria. This vehicle has been listed for four weeks.
The seller also claims that these vehicles are sold out until December 2023. This is untrue.
It is possible that the sellers like this are in breach of their contract with Tesla.
As The Driven has previously reported, the sales contract that Tesla customers sign to secure their order with the EV maker states: “Tesla and its affiliates sell cars directly to end-consumers, and we may unilaterally cancel any order that we believe has been made with a view toward resale of the Vehicle or that has otherwise been made in bad faith.”
This was reiterated on Friday by Tesla in a letter sent to the Tesla Owners Club of Australia.
As shared with multiple electric vehicle groups on social media, the letter states: “Some of you may have noticed a recent increase in social media posts from people who have ordered a Tesla attempting to sell their place in the queue or resell their car immediately after delivery.
“Please be aware that this is considered a breach of the ‘No Reseller’ clause under the terms of the Motor Vehicle Order Agreement (MVOA) and may result in the order being cancelled.”
There are multiple Model Y listings on Car Sales that appear to be “new car to order” listings generated by the site that do not actually have sellers attached to them.
The Tesla Model Y became available for order on June 10, quickly attracting more than 12,000 orders and pushing wait times for new orders out six months within days.
Currently, the waiting time for new orders stands at seven months.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model 3 and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.
