- Some Tesla customers are frustrated after reserving a Cybertruck order for $100 over two years ago.
- They told Insider they haven’t heard anything from Tesla about delivery dates since they paid.
- Some customers said they’re prepared to wait for Cybertruck, but one said he’s cancelled his refund.
Elon Musk unveiled Tesla’s first electric pickup truck in November 2019, and orders started piling up.
Three days after the reveal, the CEO tweeted that Tesla had received 200,000 orders for its Cybertruck.
More than two years later, early-bird customers who reserved a Cybertruck for $100 in 2019 are still waiting to get their hands on Tesla’s new electric vehicle.
Five people who forked out $100 to secure their Cybertruck order told Insider that they’re feeling frustrated about the two-year wait, especially because they haven’t had any updates from Tesla’s customer service team.
Some said it was worth the wait, others requested refunds. They sent Insider email confirmations of their Cybertruck order payments made between 2019 and 2020.
Ringo H.W. Chiu/Associated Press
Wayne Matus, based in New Jersey, told Insider that he made his reservation on the day of the Cybertruck’s unveiling in 2019. He said he was patiently hanging on but was “amazed” that he hadn’t received an email or phone call from a Tesla representative with more information.
“I am frustrated that Tesla has not contacted me as a customer,” Matus said. “I am not sure how much longer I can wait.”
Meanwhile, David Deschene has also been waiting nearly two years for his Cybertruck, he told Insider.
Deschene said he’s “rather disappointed” with the release date changes, which he saw as “missed opportunities” because he could have traded his petrol truck in for other trucks that were released before Cybertruck, such as Ford’s F-150 Lightning.
But he said he was prepared to wait until the truck is ready.
“The futuristic style alone is intriguing enough to bide my time,” Deschene said.
Other customers thought differently about the long wait times.
In west Texas, Benjamin Cost decided to request a refund after waiting more than 18 months for Cybertruck and hearing nothing from Tesla, he told Insider.
Musk first predicted that production of the futuristic pickup truck, made of heavy-duty stainless steel and armored glass, would kick off in 2021 — that date soon got pushed back to 2022.
Now, the automaker has delayed production to “hopefully” next year, Musk said in Tesla’s fourth-quarter earnings on Tuesday. The pushback was because Tesla was changing the Cybertruck’s features and components, a person with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on January 14.
Athan Poulos, based in California, paid a $100 deposit for the Cybertruck reservation in January 2020. He showed Insider documentation relating to this. He expected the Cybertruck to be delivered in late 2021 or early 2022.
Poulos said he was “slightly frustrated” but felt it was worth waiting for if the electric pickup truck lives up to the hype.
“If Tesla is using these additional months to develop a superior truck then yes, I do think it’s worth the wait,” he said.
Musk said in early December that the six-passenger Cybertruck will come with four motors and be able to “drive diagonally like a crab.”
Tesla said during the truck’s unveiling that the single-, dual-, and tri-motor variants of the Cybertruck would cost $39,990, $49,990, and $69,990, respectively, but the price for the four-motor variant is unknown.
Mark Mamedly, who placed his reservation back in December 2019, told Insider that he’s not been contacted by Tesla customer service for updates on the Cybertruck. He also said he’s frustrated but thinks he can wait a little longer.
Some of Elon Musk’s companies are known to keep some customers waiting for months without customer service. Insider recently reported that SpaceX’s Starlink has left some customers waiting almost a year for the internet network.