Despite Tesla's (TSLA) stern warning about flipping the long-awaited Cybertruck, some brave souls are willing to risk being on Elon's "naughty list" in exchange for the almighty payoff.
When the news broke that a Orlando area Porsche dealership paid a whopping $244,000 for a Cybertruck Foundation Series at a used car auction, Tesla CEO Elon Musk was led to believe that the Floridian dealership was acting on behalf of the Stuttgart-based performance car brand, he boasted that the Germans would "discover a lot of new technology" when they take it apart.
However, the Porsche dealer is attempting to cash in on its investment and the hype.
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Porsche South Orlando, the Florida dealership who bought the $244,000 Foundation Series Cybertruck, has recently listed its recent acquisition for a hefty $289,900.
At more than double the asking price for the Foundation series, this specific truck has less than 100 miles and had one previous owner.
According to Tesla, the Foundation series Cybertrucks come "fully optioned," along with additional extras including "limited-edition laser-etched badging, premium accessories, charging equipment with Powershare home backup hardware, all-terrain tires, Full-Self Driving capability, and more."
High-priced preowned Cybertrucks available
However, if you are in the market for a Cybertruck, and are willing to spend a significant amount to skip the line, the Orlando-area Porsche dealership's example is not the only Cybertruck to hit the used car listings.
At the time of writing, five different Cybertrucks, including the one at the Orlando Porsche dealership, are listed on used car registry CarGurus from $220,000 to $300,000, including another Foundation Series truck at a Lake Park, Fla, exotic car dealership called Driving Emotions for $259,900.
YouTuber John Clay Wolfe, the owner and founder of online car buying platform givemethevin.com, revealed in a recently published video that his firm was behind the Cybertruck that sold at Manheim auctions for $244,000 on Feb. 28 to the Orlando-area Porsche dealership.
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Before the Cybertruck went on sale, Tesla wrote a "no-resale clause" in the sales contract of the Cybertruck to prevent potential scalping.
"You agree that in the event you breach this provision, or Tesla has reasonable belief that you are about to breach this provision, Tesla may seek injunctive relief to prevent the transfer of title of the Vehicle or demand liquidated damages from you in the amount of $50,000 or the value received as consideration for the sale or transfer, whichever is greater. Tesla may also refuse to sell you any future vehicles," the agreement read.
Difficulty buying used Cybertrucks
Wolfe emphasized that getting his hands on the polygon-shaped Tesla was long and drawn out process because owners he tried to buy from were afraid of being hunted down by Tesla.
"We tried to buy a gazillion [Cybertrucks]," Wolfe said in a clip of his Saturday radio show. "Everybody freaks out because of the $50,000 threat from Tesla. We worked 30 deals to get that truck bought because everybody flaked out when they realized that Tesla was going to sue them for the $50,000."
Wolfe revealed that his firm paid $210,000 for the Cybertruck that eventually sold at auction for $240,000, noting that they did not expect to make much profit. Although the auction proved them wrong, he warned that the inflated prices won't hold out for much longer – alluding that the initial hype will in fact, die down eventually, as what he saw with other EVs.
"We gave [$240,000], sold for [$250,000], maybe [$245,000], sold for [$250,000] – we sold the first EV Hummer for about this price, and now you can buy that truck in our lane on any given Wednesday for 100 grand," Wolfe said. "Remember what we were paying for [Ford F-150] Lightnings, for [Ford] Mach-e Mustangs. S--- coming down, this wont hold up."
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