Tesla CEO vows to personally refund deposits if there’s an “Armageddon scenario”

Filed under: Car Buying, Coupes, Hybrids/Alternative, Sports/GTs, Green, Earnings/Financials, Celebrities

Here’s Tesla’s Elon Musk, speaking in March (and just published in Car and Driver):

Even in the worst case of an Armageddon scenario, I’ll personally refund people [their money] if need be.

While the U.S. federal government needs to step in and guarantee the warranties for General Motors and Chrysler vehicles should those companies enter bankruptcy, the loaded Musk (C&D calls him an “Internet zillionaire”) is apparently unofficially willing to give people interested in his company’s electric cars one more reason to buy. No details are available yet about what, exactly, Musk means by all of this (a Tesla spokesperson we reached declined to clarify), but this is slightly interesting, no?

Another detail from C&D’s interview interview worth noting is that Musk believes that part of the money issues that became public earlier this year were caused by misrepresentations from a management team that has since left the company. The board thought the Roadster (which was selling for just over $90,000) cost $65,000 to make instead of the $140,000 it was estimated it was really costing the company to make the car a few years ago. Part of the solution was to reduce costs and to refine the car in order to offer the new Roadster Sport version at a higher price point.

[Source: Car and Driver via All Cars Electric]

Tesla CEO vows to personally refund deposits if there’s an “Armageddon scenario” originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments