Tesla Cybertruck's "250,000" pre-orders now in doubt as questions over double-billing emerge

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Has Tesla been counting customers twice?
Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
28 Nov 2019
2 min read

Reports out of the USA have thrown the Tesla Cybertruck's claimed 250,000 pre-orders into question, with some customers suggesting they'd been billed for their deposits more than once, sparking concerns the EV company might be inadvertently over-counting orders.

Now we must point out here that the allegations are so far unproven, but some customers in the USA have reportedly complained over being charged more than once for their deposit, sparking the question of whether their orders were counted more than once, too.

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When Tesla unveiled the Cybertruck last week, the company also opened the order books, asking for a refundable US$100 deposit to pre-order the controversial electric vehicle. Wall Street analysts have already raised concerns over the conversion rate of those orders, given the relatively small amount of money involved, and the lack of risk for potential customers. 

Meanwhile, Elon Musk has been providing regular updates, tweeting "200k" and "250k", presumably referring to the increasing number of pre-orders that had been received for the Cybertruck. If those numbers stack up, Tesla's books have received a US$25m boost over the past few days. 

But today on Twitter, some customers have reportedly suggested they'd been billed more than once, with users now asking for new, cleaned data with any double sales removed. 

Read More: Tesla plots true Ford Ranger Rival: Elon Musk says smaller Cybertruck now on the cards

"Some customers have Tweeted that they were charged for unintended multiple pre-orders. Have you cleaned the pre-order data to account for these types of errors?" Tweeted CNBC reporter Lora Kolodny.

Either way, it's difficult to label the Cybertruck as anything but a PR success for Musk, no matter how many pre-orders convert to actual sales, with news of the electric truck still dominating online chatter around the world.

Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist
Andrew Chesterton should probably hate cars. From his hail-damaged Camira that looked like it had spent a hard life parked at the end of Tiger Woods' personal driving range, to the Nissan Pulsar Reebok that shook like it was possessed by a particularly mean-spirited demon every time he dared push past 40km/h, his personal car history isn't exactly littered with gold. But that seemingly endless procession of rust-savaged hate machines taught him something even more important; that cars are more than a collection of nuts, bolts and petrol. They're your ticket to freedom, a way to unlock incredible experiences, rolling invitations to incredible adventures. They have soul. And so, somehow, the car bug still bit. And it bit hard. When "Chesto" started his journalism career with News Ltd's Sunday and Daily Telegraph newspapers, he covered just about everything, from business to real estate, courts to crime, before settling into state political reporting at NSW Parliament House. But the automotive world's siren song soon sounded again, and he begged anyone who would listen for the opportunity to write about cars. Eventually they listened, and his career since has seen him filing car news, reviews and features for TopGear, Wheels, Motor and, of course, CarsGuide, as well as many, many others. More than a decade later, and the car bug is yet to relinquish its toothy grip. And if you ask Chesto, he thinks it never will.
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