The inevitable day has arrived: the Tesla Cybertruck flippers are here. The concept of scalpers is nothing new and has been around for as long as limited-run commodities have existed. This pattern was recently observed with the GMC Hummer EV and once production was ramped up, it crushed the used market. Now, the Cyber-flippers are targeting the Cybertruck by listing their trucks for sale over MSRP, even without the truck in hand, despite the threat of civil penalties of over $50,000 from Tesla for reselling the truck within the first year of delivery. Here are some examples we found up for sale this week:
Yossi Wizman, who is registered as an agent for an LLC tied to an exotic car rental agency in Florida called Luxury Miami Car Rentals, has listed one such example on Facebook Marketplace for a whopping $275,000. However, the truck does not yet appear to be available to purchase and the photos on the ad do not appear to be of the actual truck. We reached out to Luxury Miami Car Rentals for clarification but did not receive additional context about the sale.
Most of the Cybertrucks for sale are trucks that have been ordered and allocated, but not yet delivered, with estimated delivery dates of March and April this year. Some examples for sale include one listed in Texas for $150,000, and another in Eureka, California at the same price. There’s also another seller in Williamsburg, Virginia asking $115,000, and another in San Diego, California with a one-year lease for $162,000. Another lease is listed for $130,000 in Kulpsville, Pennsylvania, though the terms aren’t detailed in the listing.
These “leases” are likely meant to bypass Tesla’s anti-flipping clause found in the Cybertruck’s order agreement. The clause allows Tesla to seek civil penalties of $50,000 or more if the buyer does not allow Tesla to have the right of first refusal on any second-hand Cybertruck purchases. However, despite the Cybertruck being the most unique-looking vehicle on the road, it has not commanded a huge price tag compared to some other limited edition vehicles. For example, one of the first Cybertrucks fetched around $400,000 at auction, while the first Hummer EV sold for $2.5 million. The Cybertruck is planned for limited quantity production for the time being, and Tesla has been transparent that significant uplift is required to reach volume production.