A 19-year-old car buyer learned a hard truth about electric vehicles upon buying a new Tesla from a dealer.
The video unveiling the story came from Utah-based creator EV Auto Alex (@evautoalex). The creator works with a pair of dealerships specializing in electric vehicles. The video shares excerpts from a call Alex conducted with a dissatisfied customer. It went up on Sunday and got more than 1.7 million views as of Monday.
Buyer’s remorse
The 19-year-old who bought a Tesla expressed buyer’s remorse upon getting the car and taking it to another state.
“I live in an apartment, so there’s no way of charging my house,” the young man told Alex via phone call. “My parents don’t want to put one because they don’t have electric vehicles. I don’t want to stop every hour and a half and charge my car for 30 minutes when I could just fill it up in 10 and get triple the range.”
The customer also called this revelation a “dealbreaker.”
“That stuff was true before you owned the car,” Alex replied. “Those are all facts, whether you own the car or not. So I’m just trying to understand how we got there after you bought it.”
“I’ve been driving an EV every day for the last seven years,” Alex shared. “It does take longer to charge than it does to fill up with gas, no question about it, but I save so much money on gas.”
When the young man expressed concern that going through Alex for a replacement gas-powered car would cost him money, Alex said, “You’re going to ask me to lose thousands of dollars because you didn’t do your homework. That’s not fair to us. You need to take some responsibility here. You don’t just get to return a car after driving an hour, many miles and days and changing your mind, getting cold feet. That’s not how it works. That’s not how the law works. That’s not how business works, and that’s not fair to us.”
He also informed the young man, “I’m going to make a profit on a car that I’m selling,” before getting the go-ahead to look for a 2021 Hyundai Sonata through a dealer auction.
Does it take that long to charge?
Tesla anticipated the young man’s charging questions, and it’s not quite as bad as he made it out.
“Superchargers are the fastest charging option when you’re away from home, allowing you to charge your vehicle up to 200 miles in 15 minutes,” according to Tesla’s site. “Designed to get you charged and back on the road as quickly as possible, we own and operate over 60,000 global Superchargers that are accessible on a 24/7 basis, located on major routes near convenient amenities.”
The site also notes that even if you can’t install a charger where you live, “you can purchase a Mobile Connector and plug into a standard three-prong, 120 volt outlet.”
It continues, “A 120-volt outlet will supply two to three miles of range per hour of charge. If you charge overnight and drive less than 30 to 40 miles per day, this option should meet your typical charging needs.”
However, as one recent Daily Dot story explored, not everyone is satisfied with Tesla’s explanation. Many bristle at the cost of installing a home charger and waiting at a charging station.
Viewers commend Alex for standing his ground
Viewers largely lined up behind Alex—or, at least, to dunk on the person who bought the Tesla and then regretted it.
“How did he not think about this beforehand,” one marveled.
“To say that’s a dealbreaker after the deal is done is crazy,” another said.
One did go after Alex, saying, “Every car I’ve bought from a dealer gave me either three or five days as long as I didn’t go over 250 miles I could return it for my money back. This is a bad dealer.”
But several people immediately came to Alex’s defense.
“You must be joking. Never ever heard of this,” one said. “This dealer handled it like a stud. He didn’t have to do anything for this young man.”
Several remarked that Alex treated the customer like a father delivering news about how the world works to a son who erred.
“Sounds like a dad giving a lesson to a son,” one remarked.
“I have a 19 year old,” Alex responded. “Couldn’t help it.”
@evautoalex A young buyer experienced Tesla buyer’s remorse over charging issues, And now we’re stepping in to work out a better deal. #carbusiness #buyersremorse #electriccar #carcharging #cardeal #CarTok #TikTokAutoCampaign ♬ original sound – EV Auto Alex
The Daily Dot has reached out to the creator via Instagram and TikTok direct message and to Tesla via email.
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