Man went to Tesla dealership to request his $5,400 back that was taken years ago for car that was never made

After placing a $5,400 deposit on a Roadster back in 2017, this UK man has given up hope and has headed to the Tesla dealership to request a refund on the car that was never made.

Just as is with all upcoming and anticipated cars, Tesla opened up the Roadster to pre-orders, allowing excited drivers to be the first on the list for its second-generation sports car.

But we’re eight years down the line, and the Roadster is still in development.

While it might be worthwhile in the end, one man has given up hope and has called into the Tesla dealership for a refund, with his money collecting zero interest.

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UK creator asks Tesla dealership for a refund on his Roadster deposit

The Tesla Roadster is set to be one of the quickest sports cars ever produced, with old Musky claiming that the car will rocket from 0-60mph in less than a second.

Despite the first prototype for this new EV being rolled out in 2017, the car has yet to hit the market, and people are beginning to doubt if it ever will, even deciding to make their own versions instead.

One of these doubters is British content creator and supercar fanatic Mark McCann, who claims that the down payment on the Tesla Roadster is now being held ransom.

Back in 2017, the UK creator paid the $5,400 deposit for the Roadster, using the online service (rather than an in-person visit), which was supposed to ship in 2020.

Five years down the line, and the car is still not ready. His $5,400 has been sitting in Tesla’s bank all the while, despite refund requests.

In a recent upload, McCann revealed that he’d been into the Tesla dealership to cancel his deposit, revealing that he’d rather gain interest on that $5,400, which would have been worth nearly ten times the amount if he’d have invested it in the company’s stock in 2017 instead.

McCann isn’t short on pocket money, having recently bought a $1.6m hypercar from the biggest luxury department store in the UK.

But with the California-based EV company following a similar pattern as it did with the Cybertruck delays, he’s asking for his money back.

And it comes after Tesla has asked for the full payment of $250,000 to be wired.

“At this stage, I said no, I’m out – I want my 4 grand back,” he said.

Adjusting for inflation between 2017 and now, that $250,000 would now be worth around $325,000, which would have been a sizable sum to not have received through natural interest rates.

Instead of putting his money through the till, he would now rather wait until the car is ready and then purchase it, even if that means he’d have to wait a while longer to get the second wave of EVs off the assembly line.

What is going on with the Roadster?

As of the Q3 earnings call in 2024, Tesla confirmed that the Roadster is still in production and is nearing a state of completion.

But there are more ‘upgrades’ to the current prototype that they want to make.

And if it were up to the Founder, these upcoming modifications might even make the Roadster ‘fly’…

At this point, though, people will undoubtedly be wanting to see the car soon; otherwise, more customers will be wanting refunds in the hope of joining the waiting lists down the line.

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