"2017 feels like another era these days, but if you cast your mind back that far, you might remember Tesla CEO Elon Musk's vaporware Roadster 2.0. Full of nonsensical-sounding features that impressed people who know a little bit about rockets but nothing about cars, the $200,000 electric car promised to have a suction fan and "cold gas thrusters," plus 620 miles (1,000 km) of range and a whole load of other stuff that's never happening."
"Plenty of other electric automakers have introduced electric hypercars in the eight years since Musk declared the second Roadster a thing, with no sign of it being any closer to reality, if the latest job postings are accurate. And it seems that over time, a lot of the people who gave the company a hefty deposit-some say interest-free loan-have become tired of waiting and want their money back."
Tesla announced the Roadster 2.0 in 2017 with extravagant claims such as a suction fan, cold gas thrusters, and 620 miles (1,000 km) of range for a $200,000 price. Multiple electric automakers have since released electric hypercars, but the Roadster remains unrealized and job postings show little progress. Many customers who placed hefty deposits years ago now seek refunds, but obtaining refunds has proven difficult. Sam Altman placed a $45,000 preorder in 2018 and found the preorder email address deleted when requesting a refund. Other depositors, including Marques Brownlee, needed phone calls and forum advice to recover most funds.
Read at Ars Technica
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]