Can You Cancel A Tesla Order (Are They Transferable?)

So, you are getting cold feet and now you wondering if you can get out of a car deal and cancel a Tesla order?

Well, we have done the digging and found out everything you need to know about cancelling a Tesla order and we spill the beans about whether or not you can transfer a Tesla order to another person.

So, let’s gert charged up and sort this out!

Key Takeaways:

While most tires on fossil fuel vehicles last an average of 50k-60k miles (about 4 years), tires on electric vehicles don’t last nearly as long and you may need to change them as soon as 15-20K miles.
As a general rule, you should start shopping for new tires one the tread pattern has about 4/32″ of an inch remaining.
While many tires are warranted between 45k-60k miles, electric vehicles like Teslas wear out much faster, meaning replacement can come as soon as 15k miles.

You can cancel a Tesla order at any time before the delivery day – simply sign into your account and submit a cancellation request (the process can take up to 30 days and you will, most likely, not get your order fee back).

According to Tesla, reservations are nontransferable, but some users were able to pass their accounts over to a new person.

Is there a way to get your order fee back and can you legally transfer your reservation to someone else? Let’s find out!

It is possible to place a Tesla order by accident. It is also not rare for future owners to simply change their minds about the type of car that they want to get. What exactly should you do, in such a case? 

Can You Cancel a Tesla Order?

Yes, you can undoubtedly cancel a Tesla order. But the real question is – will you be able to get your order fee back? And if not – is there a way to transfer your Tesla reservation and, hopefully, earn some money from it?

Even though Tesla states that the reservation deposit and order fee are ‘non-refundable’, you might be able to get your money back under certain circumstances.

How to Cancel Tesla Order

You can cancel your order at any time until you actually receive the car (don’t rely on the estimated delivery dates, they can be pretty off). In a lot of cases, you will be losing the $250 order fee. 

To cancel the order, you would have to submit a cancellation request from your Tesla account.

  1. Sign into your account
  2. Select ‘manage’ (the button should be right next to the order)
  3. Choose ‘submit a request’ – this is where you’ll be able to cancel your order; the request will get moved to the next person in line
  4. The cancellation process can take up to 30 days, according to Tesla

How to Get Your Order Fee Back

Worried about fees? Dont Be! Tesla dropped cancellation fees back in 2019 which were the $2,500 order deposit and the $1,000 reservation fee.

Keep in mind, that you will be charged a $250 non-refundable order fee at the time of ordering your Tesla. No one can guarantee that you’re going to get a refund, but it’s worth giving it a shot:

  1. Go to the Tesla support page
  2. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and select ‘Contact’
  3. Sign into your account
  4. Start a live chat with the support team. Tell the Tesla representative that you want to cancel your order and apply for a refund and that you’re willing to find out what your options are

Wait times for a Tesla refund is pretty solid and according to Tesla, most refunds will be processed within a month!

However, a lot of users are complaining that the whole process takes a lot longer than that. Bear in mind that you might not get the order fee back at all.

Now, I don’t recommend this unless the case is extreme, but, you can always dispute a credit card charge if you used that for the deposit.

How to Transfer a Tesla Reservation

Once you place your reservation, you should get a message from Tesla that states that the reservation is non-transferable (unless you have written approval from Tesla).

Here are a few more options that might be worth considering:

  1. No one can stop you from simply selling the car once you receive it. There is a simple “legal way” to transfer a Tesla, and that’s selling it…just don’t forget about the taxes – there is a federal tax credit for the vehicle and you might be taxed after completing the sale.
  2. You can try to convince your SA to ‘reset’ the reservation. Then, ask the person to whom you want to transfer the reservation to fill out the buyer’s information and apply for the payment options. However, this trick can bump you to the back of the line and the price on the vehicle might get updated (but some say that it can remain the same if you update only the payment option).
  3. The previous method involves transferring another person’s information into your account, but, if you’re lucky, you might be able to simply transfer the whole account. This usually works if the car is in the account by itself – without any future deposits or current cars. Simply change the password and give the account to someone else (would be nice, if they also gave you your deposit back). 

If someone is trying to sell you a reservation be extremely careful as there are plenty of scammers out there.

Also, remember, according to Tesla policy, the orders that are suspected of transfer outside of close family members can be canceled (and the reseller might even get banned, in some cases).

Does Ordering a Tesla Lock in the Price?

As soon as you place an order, you lock in the price. You will receive a confirmation email once you pay the order fee with an Order Agreement PDF attached – this is where you’ll see the price structure.

The ability to lock in the price via placing an order is one of the reasons why a lot of people don’t want to cancel their order or transfer their reservation to someone else.

In a lot of cases, receiving the vehicle that you paid an ‘old’ price for and then selling it for the new price can potentially bring you an extra few thousand bucks.

Want to know about canceling a Rivian order? Check out this helpful article!

Final Thoughts

Can you cancel a Tesla order and are these reservations transferable?

In a nutshell, canceling your order is extremely simple and involves only submitting a cancellation request.

Transferring the reservation instead of canceling it might not be the best idea from a legal perspective, but no one can stop you from selling the car as soon as you receive it – the choice is yours.