Tesla tips Cybertruck price depreciation rate to make reselling difficult for early buyers

Tesla has reportedly scheduled early Cybertruck deliveries to showrooms and industry influencers alike in a departure from its typical marketing efforts when launching a new vehicle. The select few who will get a Cybertruck on or around the November 30th release date, however, won't be able to flip them, at least not in the first year of ownership.

According to Tesla's newly amended sales terms, those initial Cybertruck VIN codes can only be resold with the explicit authorization of the automaker, and only in case that it doesn't want to buy back the Cybertruck from you at the following conditions:

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if you must sell the Vehicle within the first year following its delivery date for any unforeseen reason, and Tesla agrees that your reason warrants an exception to its no reseller policy, you agree to notify Tesla in writing and give Tesla reasonable time to purchase the Vehicle from you at its sole discretion and at the purchase price listed on your Final Price Sheet less $0.25/mile driven, reasonable wear and tear, and the cost to repair the Vehicle to Tesla’s Used Vehicle Cosmetic and Mechanical Standards.

The company adds that if it "declines to purchase your Vehicle, you may then resell your Vehicle to a third party only after receiving written consent from Tesla." If they try to go around these requirements, Tesla reserves the right to sue early Cybertruck buyers for at least US$50,000, unless they resell it for more.

The reason? Well, Tesla says that "the Cybertruck will first be released in limited quantity," so it wants to prevent people from flipping theirs at a premium that Tesla then won't get. The Cybertruck's price is reportedly going to be in the "mid to high 70s," at least for the tri-motor Performance version.

If Tesla expects the rumored $75,000 Cybertruck price to depreciate down to $50,000 in the first year of ownership, the $0.25/mile penalty would mean the near impossible 100,000 miles on the dash. As usual, it also factors in "reasonable wear and tear, and the cost to repair the Vehicle to Tesla’s Used Vehicle Cosmetic and Mechanical Standards" to arrive at the final price depreciation number that it will buy back the Cybertruck from you at, indicating that it generously expects it to lose a third of its value over the course of one year.

Early Cybertruck owners, however, will most likely be able to recoup their purchase price with a premium even after driving Tesla's first electric pickup for a while, so waiting 12 months to resell it shouldn't cause a purchase reservation exodus.

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