A Cybertruck Owner Says He’s Thrilled that Tesla Sold Him a Defective Truck. He adds, “I Can Now Return the Truck to Tesla at Full Price & Buy a Brand-New Cybertruck for $30,000 Less"

Work for Torque News, follow on Twitter, Youtube and Facebook.

A Cybertruck owner is celebrating the fact that Tesla sold him a defective truck. He can now avoid all the depreciation by returning the vehicle to Tesla at full price. However, he’ll be using the money to buy another Cybertruck for $30,000 less.

Reid Tomasko, a Cybertruck owner from New Hampshire, says that after experiencing multiple issues, he was recently forced to return his defective truck back to Tesla.

Reid says the glue holding his Cybertruck panels together was defective, which meant he had to get every panel on the Cybertruck replaced before he finally called it quits and asked Tesla to buy back his truck.

If a company sells a defective product and is required to fully reimburse the owner, that usually concludes the matter.

However, Reid states that he will use the money he received from Tesla as reimbursement for his defective Cybertruck to purchase another Cybertruck.

Additionally, for those who may feel sympathy for Reid due to the challenges he faced with a troublesome Cybertruck, he says “it’s a win” that his truck encountered issues, as it allowed him to return it to Tesla for the original price.

In contrast, another Cybertruck owner recently disclosed that Carvana offered him $59,400 for his relatively new three-month-old Cybertruck, which has only 2,000 miles.

And another Cybertruck owner says, “It’s impossible to get rid of a Cybertruck. I want to cut my losses and move on, but I can’t give this thing away. I’ve lost so much money already, help!”

However, Reid says he’ll have a brand-new Cybertruck and will also save $30,000 since Tesla will reimburse him for the original price he paid for the truck prior to all the price cuts and incentives.

Since Tesla started selling the Cybertruck, the EV maker has decreased the vehicle's starting price by $20,000.

Additionally, starting in 2025, the vehicle qualifies for the $7,500 point-of-sale federal EV tax credit, and Tesla is also offering a $1,500 referral discount.

If all this wasn’t enough, Tesla is also now offering a 1.99% financing rate for the Cybertruck, whereas people who bought their Cybertruck earlier had to pay 6% or a higher interest rate.

This alone reduces the price of the Cybertruck over the lifetime of the loan by more than $15,000.

Overall, with all these price cuts and incentives, Reid seems thankful that Tesla sold him a defective truck.

Now, Reid says his only concern is whether Tesla will quickly send him the money for the first Cybertruck so that he can use it to pay for the second Cybertruck he has already ordered.

This is certainly an interesting decision, and the unexpectedly pleased Cybertruck owner shared his story on the Tesla Cybertruck group on Facebook.

He writes…

“Tesla bought back my Cybertruck after I needed to replace every panel due to glue failure. You might think I'm crazy for ordering a new one; however, I'm getting a new truck and putting $ 30,000 in the bank, so I see it as a win!

I've also heard that all the panels being produced now use the new adhesive, so I feel confident placing my order.

I've invested so much into the Cybertruck community and have wrapped over 30 of them in the Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts area. I want to continue driving a wrapped Cybertruck every day!

I test-drove a few other trucks, but nothing excites me as the Cybertruck does.”

Below his post, Reid included a screenshot from his Tesla app that shows the order confirmation he got for the second Cybertruck.

Looking at the comments, other Cybertruck owners have also shared that they are experiencing multiple issues with their trucks, but they still express their love for the vehicle.

A fellow Cybertruck owner, Jacob Saltzman, says that similar to Reid, he is also in the process of getting Tesla to buy back his Cybertruck.

However, once again, similar to Reid, Jacob ordered a second Cybertruck even before Tesla reimbursed him for the first one.

Now he says he’s worried because Tesla has informed him that they will cancel his second Cybertruck order in 12 days if he doesn’t complete the payment. However, Tesla is taking too long to reimburse him for his first Cybertruck.

Jacob writes…

“How long did it take Tesla to pay you for the returned truck? I’m going through that and thought they would be able to apply the money from the returned truck to the new order, but they weren’t and now are threatening to cancel my order in 12 days.”

Tesla is refusing to apply the payment for the new Cybertruck using the funds from the returned truck. At the same time, the EV maker is threatening to cancel his new Cybertruck order if he doesn’t complete the payment.

This is definitely not ideal; however, Reid hopes Tesla will reimburse Cybertruck owners within 5 to 10 days.

Reid says he has also not received the payment from Tesla and writes…

“I’m also hoping to get my check before I need to pay for the new one.”

Stories like Reid Tomasko’s - and others who’ve had Tesla buy back their defective Cybertrucks - highlight how the EV ownership journey can take unexpected turns. But even when the vehicle seems mechanically sound, surprises can emerge over time. For instance, one Model 3 owner paid a steep $10K dealership markup for his car, only to realize four years later that battery degradation had subtly reduced his range to a single bar below full capacity. His experience raises a sobering question: when does paying more upfront for a Tesla actually pay off? If you're thinking long-term about EV ownership, his honest reflections are worth a read.

Overall, it’s interesting to see how many Cybertruck owners are returning their vehicles because of various defects but still opt to use that money to buy another Cybertruck.

It’s not just Tesla owners who find themselves reassessing their vehicle experience after extended use. Rivian owners have been navigating their own concerns, though for different reasons. One Rivian R1T driver, after clocking 100,000 miles, started worrying about efficiency drops in his electric truck, only to realize that his concerns were put into perspective when comparing to other EVs. His insights shed light on how real-world EV efficiency can shift over time, and how owners adjust their expectations as their vehicles age. If you're curious about how Rivian holds up in the long run compared to Tesla’s Cybertruck, you might want to check out his full experience here.

Please let me know what you think in the comments. Share your ideas by clicking the red “Add new comment” button below. Also, make sure to visit our site, torquenews.com/Tesla, regularly for the latest updates.

For more information, check out: A Tesla Cybertruck Owner Who Was T-Boned By a Drunk Driver Running a Red Light at 60 MPH Says His Truck Saved His Life & The Life of His 5-Year-Old Daughter – He Adds “I’ll Buy Another Cybertruck This Week”

Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and the evolution of the EV space daily for several years. He covers everything about Tesla, from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.

Submitted by Richard Shaffer (not verified) on April 2, 2025 - 2:16PM

Permalink

Tesla won't apply refund money from supposedly defective Cybertrucks to new ones because it makes the reason for turning in the old one somewhat less than appearing valid. "Here's your refund money based on the higher price, so if you want to buy again at the lower price, you need to get back in line." "It's not our job to accomodate you when we're taking a financial hit."

Exactly right ! Tesla is up to their eyeballs in debt with building these trucks, and of course they are offering them at a lower price. Think about it if it cost you 30k to build one and you sell it for 60k you doubled your money. Well you have payroll, all overhead cost. Then you sell 10 more so know you invest 30k into each until you get to the last 5 trucks. Know you don't have the money to buy the same expensive glue or other pieces so you cut cost just on half of the order. And you ship them off. Well you barely broke even on overhead cost, payroll, and you are sitting on pins and needles about the 5 that you cut cost on. Well they sell but buyers begin to have issues at first it's small things and they gradually get bigger and bigger. Well the company has contacted the owner but honestly like everything else his mind is not on his business. His exact words are I hired you to handle things like this but instead you are calling me. And hung up the phone in about 3 minutes he receives a text message saying that in order for the company to run for the next 3 months it needs 200k and then he decides it might be a good idea to actually talk to him and act like a boss instead. So he calls back but he asks the woman in the room if she knows what they are doing she says yes and he asks if she can handle everything she says yes so he says he is stepping out of the room. Well he does and he's told what is going on with everything and why it was done he understands and not upset about it. So he instantly wires the money to the business account and he made it a even 300k to help the business by actually stock instead of ordering it as needed. And he tells the guy he's talking to to contact each person and offer to buy back the truck at the price they paid for it. And cut them a check for it tell HR not to take a yr to get it done.

Is this dude high on hallucinogenics? Wtf would be smart about returning a DEFECTIVE vehicle just to buy the same pos all over again? DUMB. Just plain and simply DUMB!

Could not agree more given the multitudes of people having problems with their purchase. Its just silly to think that first, the next truck won't be an issue, and second, that tesla will rush the money back for the second purchase. The fact they were offered 100% back shows that Tesla knows the trucks are bad.

EVERY car manufacturer offers 100 percent refunds on lemons because of the Lemon Law. So D. A. it's not that Tesla knows that ALL the trucks are bad. There is a lengthy process the owner must go through before Tesla will give this full price rebate. So I doubt seriously if the owner is on hallucinogenics. Check your facts before you are so quick to judge.

I wouldn't buy one of those pieces of crap if they offered it to me for 1 dollar. Their not even worth that. Anyone who purchased one that was defective are refunded for it and they go back and purchase the same thing over again gets what they get and I bet it's no different than the original one that they bought and had to return. Problems for life with electric

Not only that, he hasn't even gotten his money back for the defective one....Also ADMITS he'd never be able to re-sell it and value has plummeted. What the hell is wrong with these people?! Do they enjoy eating their own faces, too??

It will all pass being the auto company with largest market share can't be easy . I'm sure Elon is going to fix the issues . Democrats are being hyper critical of him when they can't even budget a house hold and have no skills worth paying for . It won't be much longer and everything will come together.

Your derogatory dig at Democrats has no evidence base and is illogical. There are stupid people from all political parties and stances. The arrogance of your comment might poorly reflect on your inability to refrain from groundless biases and unfounded positioning. I'm not personally a Democrat, but am still astounded by your sheer ignorance and narrow mindedness.

I quite think that it is very stupid to buy another CT when the first one came out defective and other people are complaining about their CT’s and how their’s came with some problem every time.

Do you know how many people went and bought Toyota Highlanders even after the Toyota Highlanders accelerated at high speeds crashed and killed people inside the cars? Are all Toyota's bad?

Yeah actually we do know how many bought the defective hylander!

Are you ready??

It was enough that for the first time in over 45 years that the FORD F150 WAS NOT THE NUMBER ONE SELLING VECHILE in america. That title now goes to the se of accelerating murder machine maybe they should ch check out The movie maximum overdrive!!

Oh and being a Democrat or a republicans has nothing to do is it bad business ethics, mis management of people and supplies or cutting corners but since the person a few comments prior to this sure want to point at the Democrats must be something wrong with their mirror!!

Came to say the same, except if he was on hallucinogens he'd be able to come to the same conclusion. Instead, he's doubledowning on being a product of subpar special ed. class. I love the reality we live in right now. It's never been more, um, fun.

We love to troll the owners when their truck bricks on the side of the road. We had one die in a traffic circle nearby and the owner was stuck inside for a couple of hours. In SC. In summer. In a big shiny metal box. We drove around the circle a few times horse laughing at him. I bet he gets rid of it.

And if Elon takes away Social Security and Medicaid, that will pull almost 200 billion dollars a month out of our economy. He can't sell enough Cuck Trucks to make that up. And whomever said they are the number one car company, please share. I need some of whatever you are doing.

You are a bit biased for my taste. Why not state what YOUR suppose facts, and leave it at that? But, you choose differently.
You're just another radical. Go get a job, go to work every day, then, leave your momma's basement for a day or two, you'll be shocked to what you will learn. God bless you.

Submitted by Jim Studenic (not verified) on April 2, 2025 - 5:43PM

Permalink

Once Musk finds out about his “claim”, he will be made to keep it and be sued $50,000 for slander (since Musk NEEDS the money). Trump and Biondi will back him. Too bad, bubba🤷‍♂️

I find it funny you would suggest Musk might use 1cent of his own funds to dig out his sad company when everyone knows he is paid billions of dollars a year in US taxpayer dollars to fund his every whim. The man is as crooked as the day is long, and only spends money buying presidents and elections. He hands out millions to voters to ensure the money keeps flowing

Lmao someone doesn't know what they're talking about it absolutely will hurt Elon musk because Elon musk is paid by Tesla in stocks so if the stocks fall Elon musk value falls so yes boycotting Tesla will 100% hurt Elon musk it will hurt the workers that work for him too but you're absolutely wrong it will hurt him