Tesla Cybertruck bought for 2.6 billion, sold as "scrap" for only 203 million

Video : Tesla Cybertruck crashes during Edmunds testing.

In July 2024, car review and rating site Edmunds spent $101,985 (about VND 2.59 billion) to buy a new Tesla Cybertruck Foundation Series , participating in the One-Year Road Test program.

However, on December 11, 2024, the 3-ton electric pickup truck was hit by a small sedan while parked, causing it to run onto the sidewalk and be severely damaged. The Cybertruck was later assessed as a total loss, beyond repair.

This 3-ton Tesla Cybertruck was hit by a small sedan while parked, causing it to run onto the sidewalk and be severely damaged.

Before the crash, the Tesla Cybertruck had a series of problems , including: steering system problems, the vehicle automatically switching to speed limit mode or shutting down completely, constant error messages on the screen, air conditioning not working on a hot day, and the transmission not being able to enter P mode. These problems prevented Edmunds from conducting standard or off-road tests as planned.

Because of the special steel body structure, no outside shop would dare to repair the Cybertruck. Edmunds was forced to turn to Tesla’s official service network. However, within a 50-mile radius of Los Angeles—home to the largest number of Cybertrucks in the world —there are only two Tesla-licensed repair centers.

Before the accident, the Cybertruck had been experiencing a series of problems: steering system failure, the vehicle automatically switching to speed limit mode or turning off completely.

At the first dealership in Huntington Beach, Edmunds had to wait a month for a quote, and if he agreed to the repair, he had to wait another six months. Not content with waiting that long, Edmunds went to a second dealership in Ontario, which had a slightly better outcome: a quote in a month and repairs immediately. However, just before the scheduled date, Tesla announced that the repair would be postponed for another month due to overcrowding.

After nearly two months of waiting, Edmunds received an official quote: just the disassembly of the car for inspection cost $1,128. The total repair cost was $57,879.89.

The cost of repairing the car was up to 57,879.89 USD (equivalent to 1.47 billion VND).

Major categories include:

Rear suspension: 9,149 USD (232 million VND)

Bed (rear box): 8,763 USD (223 million VND)

Labor cost: 16,584 USD (421 million VND)

Other details like electric motor, wheels, steering wheel, steel body, rear bumper, etc.

With the repair costs being so high, while the market price of the Cybertruck at that time was only about $86,160 (2.18 billion VND), continuing to repair it was completely unreasonable. Edmunds was forced to accept a heavy loss.

Edmunds sold this damaged Cybertruck to Copart – a unit specializing in auctioning crashed cars – for just $8,000 (about 203 million VND).

In the end, Edmunds decided to sell this damaged Tesla Cybertruck to Copart – a unit specializing in auctioning crashed cars – for just $8,000 (about 203 million VND).

Despite not being able to participate in the One-Year Road Test program as planned, Cybertruck was still recognized by Edmunds for its smooth ride, impressive acceleration, and eye-catching design. However, the failure of the Cybertruck has officially become the largest loss in Edmunds history, surpassing the loss recorded with the previous Fisker Ocean model.

Source: https://khoahocdoisong.vn/tesla-cybertruck-mua-26-ty-ban-dong-nat-chi-203-trieu-dong-post269735.html