Tesla has been double-charging some new owners and giving them the runaround

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UPDATE 04/8/2021 9:35 AM ET: Customers that were charged twice for new vehicle purchases at the end of the first quarter have been refunded, reports CNBC.

Tesla is about as different from a traditional carmaker as you can get. It has no dealership network, you can buy your car using cryptocurrency, and it doesn’t even have a Public Relations department anymore. Maybe they should have kept that last one though, as the most recent snafu by the company has led to multiple customers being double-charged for their vehicle.

CNBC spoke to at least four Tesla customers that had used the new automated clearing house (or ACH) transfer system to pay for their brand-new Teslas, all of who were double-billed for their vehicle. It’s bad enough when a merchant double-charges for something inconsequential like a soda, but a whole car? Yikes.

That’s only the start of the problems, though, as Tesla seems to be giving these customers the runaround. Normally, you’d talk direct to the merchant so they can refund you quickly, or you could take it up with your bank, letting them talk to the merchant but that takes time. When you’re talking about tens of thousands of dollars, waiting just isn’t an option.

Even a popular YouTuber got his Model Y double-charged, with Tesla telling him that there was no record of the second charge on their end, even with his bank showing the two transactions.

For such a technologically advanced company, Tesla seems to be making some major errors in their buying process. We’ll update you if we find out if any of these customers actually get their refunds. Until then, maybe the smart play is not to use ACH bank transfers to pay for any large purchase.

UPDATE 04/8/2021 9:35 AM ET: Customers that were charged twice for new vehicle purchases at the end of the first quarter have been refunded, reports CNBC.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.