Tesla Model S isn’t exactly a car that one can rightfully describe as affordable, especially for $70,000. But an article posted by a customer titled How Elon Musk Stole My Car certainly suggests a real frustrating consumer experience.
Marty Puranik, CEO of cloud computing firm Atlantic.net was looking at new cars, and was mildly interested in a Model S. He didn’t feel that the car was really worth the full price, but found that Tesla offered “inventory cars” at reduced prices. An inventory car is one used by the company, for test drives, loaners, showroom cars, etc. These have more miles on them than a brand-new car, and you can only get them as they are, not to your custom specifications, but they’re available at pretty good discounts. It’s not just a Tesla thing, either; tons of dealers do this.
As the story goes, Marty placed an order for an inventory Model S on December 24, dropping $4,000 as a deposit to secure the purchase. With an expected delivery date of January 8, Marty in the days prior became a bit concerned when he tried to call Tesla to hash out some details only to discover that he couldn’t get through to anyone. After that he received a call saying that Tesla CEO Elon Musk had taken the inventory car that was earmarked for Marty and “was using it as his personal vehicle to test a new version of autopilot.”
So Musk didn't really steal anything, at least not on purpose. It was a simple clerical mistake, human error. When you think about it, it is kind of surprising coming from a company filled with computers and technology that's trying to change the way people buy and use cars. The post's author, Marty, eventually got his $4,000 deposit refunded. We're guessing he won't be a repeat attempted customer.
