Tesla CEO To Refund Buyers if Company Goes Under

By Eric Loveday

Eric Loveday

Author BIO

Eric Loveday is a car enthusiast with a love for everything automotive. He purchased a 1970 Chevelle at age 16, quickly outgrew its dated engineering... More

LATEST ARTICLE
Mercedes to Meet Future CAFE Requirements With Hybrid Vehicles
Failure to meet CAFÉ standards can result in stiff fines for automakers.  In particular, Mercedes... Read More

• N/ALEADERBOARD RANK
• 797ARTICLES CONTRIBUTED
• 0COMMENTS POSTED

1,790 views Apr 5, 2009

2012 Tesla Model S prototype

Enlarge Photo

Car buyers today fear the worst.  What would happen if you purchased a new vehicle from General Motors only to learn tomorrow that they declared bankruptcy and will not honor warranty claims and will not be able to provide parts to fix your vehicle?  The federal government vows that they will step in and take over the process, but what if a similar thing happened with a small start up company like Tesla Motors?

Possible Tesla buyers are concerned about this.  A buyer would have to purchase the rare Tesla Roadster for about $100,000, a significant investment for most buyers.  Then the buyer would have to rely on the company to support this one off vehicle.  Certainly parts and repair facilities would be hard to come by.  But what if Tesla Motors went under?

In a candid interview with Car and Driver, Tesla CEO Elon Musk boldly stated, "Even in the worst case Armageddon scenario, I'll personally refund people their money if need be...but there's very little danger of that."   Whether Musk is referring to refunding a deposit or refunding those who have taken delivery already is unknown.  But he stands behind his product and will personally pay buyers back.

Tesla has gone through hardships in the past couple of years and buyers are cautious as talks of lack of funding surround Tesla Motors.

Source: Car and Driver May 2009