Tesla has removed its ballsy ‘no questions asked’ 7-day return policy that Elon Musk has been pushing as a show of confidence for the automaker.
Over the last few years, Tesla has updated its return policy to enable buyers to return their vehicles within 7 days of taking delivery virtually “with no questions asked”.
This was a great show of confidence for Tesla.
The company wrote in the policy:
“Owning a Tesla vehicle means you are driving one of the most advanced, best performing and safest vehicles available. We are confident that you will feel great about your new vehicle, and so are giving you time to experience and enjoy your new Tesla. Subject to the terms and conditions of this policy, if you are unhappy with your vehicle, you may return it to us within seven (7) calendar days.”
CEO Elon Musk often used the policy in marketing Tesla vehicles to potential buyers:
Tesla literally wrote in its support page for the policy:
“This return policy is intended to give you confidence in your purchase of a Tesla vehicle, and so is in addition to any other rights you may have under applicable law.”
As long as there was no damage to the vehicle and less than 1,000 miles on the odometer, buyers were able to return the vehicle to Tesla for a full refund.
Now sources familiar with the matter told Electrek that Tesla has discontinued the policy last night.
The support page for the policy now redirects to Tesla’s general support page without any replacement policy.
Sources familiar with the matter told Electrek that dissatisfied buyers will now be referred to Tesla’s service department if they express wanting to return a vehicle for whatever reason.
Electrek’s Take
It’s strange for Tesla to make this change without a replacement policy for something that was used to show how confident it was that people would like their vehicles.
It’s also unclear if many people were using it. We know that Tesla made some changes to it over the years to avoid people abusing it, but we don’t know if that’s the reason behind the move to completely discontinue the policy.
Tesla had a lot of quality issues with the Model Y that might have resulted in an increase of the use of the policy, but buyers can always refuse delivery if they are not satisfied of the quality of the vehicle regardless of the return policy, which was more about the experience with the vehicle over the first week.
Normally, we would ask Tesla’s PR department about it, but as we recently reported, it has been disbanded.
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