Tesla has increased the deposit amount required to order a Foundation Series Cybertruck, and also made it non-refundable. While the company did not explain the reason for the increase, it is believed to have been implemented to trim the waitlist by weeding out those customers who won’t actually follow through and take delivery.
Tesla delivered the first Cybertrucks on November 30 at Giga Texas. Soon after the automaker started sending out emails to customers in California and Texas inviting them to place an order for a Foundation Series Cybertruck. These Cybertrucks carry a $20,000 premium compared to their regular counterparts, but also come with a number of options and accessories, and of course delivery sooner rather than later.
At first all customers had to to do was pay a refundable $250 deposit, $100 of which was already paid with the original reservation in 2019, meaning it actually only required an additional payment of $150 to secure a Foundation Series Cybertruck. This apparently led to a lot of customers placing orders with the hopes of selling their reservations, despite Tesla explicitly saying they would sue you if you did so within the first year, or customers placing an order who do not have the financial means to follow through, but don’t want to miss out on a chance at a $120K Cybertruck.
According to a change to the online configurator shared by Sawyer Merritt, Tesla is attempting to put a stop to this by increasing the deposit to $1,000, and making it non-refundable. It is now called an “Early Access Deposit.” The $1,000 is actually a deposit and not a fee and will be credited towards your final purchase price.
While Tesla has been taking Foundation Series Cybertruck orders for a little over a week, we have a yet to see a delivery take place. However that could happen before the end of the year as some customers have received emails telling them to “Prepare for Delivery.” These emails are usually an indication that delivery is imminent, with a vehicle allocated to that customer but a VIN has not yet been assigned.
