Did you know there are some people who have been waiting nearly a decade to get their hands on a Roadster from electric vehicle giant Tesla (TSLA)? While the arrival of the Tesla Roadster is basically a running joke at Tesla now, some people actually still have deposits down. One of those people is OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Rather, was Sam Altman, as he is currently trying to get his money back. The news did not shake Tesla investors much, as shares were up nearly 3% in Friday afternoon’s trading.
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Tesla first showed off the Roadster in 2017, and began a series of promises to actually put the car into production soon after. The promises never materialized, and Tesla accepted deposits for $50,000 and $250,000 to secure one of these future releases, reports noted. Altman put down a $50,000 deposit back around the Roadster’s unveiling, and has been waiting ever since.
Waiting no more, reports noted, as Altman has been trying to get a refund. The process has apparently been quite arduous, as the reservation email no longer responds. Further, Tesla has once again emerged to claim that an updated Roadster will get a demonstration by the end of the year, a claim that has been heard before and never actually materialized. It remains to be seen if Altman will ever actually get his deposit back, or his Roadster.
Watch Out for that Lightbar
Perhaps a bigger problem for Tesla is the Cybertruck. And this time, not for the reason you might think. Apparently, the Cybertruck is facing another recall, as the lightbars—which reports suggest are simply glued on—are falling off. With over 600 warranty claims coming in around the problem, Tesla has issued an out-and-out recall on over 6,000 Cybertruck units.
This is the tenth such recall for the line, reports note, but this one is particularly odd. Normally, an option like a lightbar would be installed with mounting hardware. The Cybertruck lightbar just uses an adhesive. And, since the floodlight is not approved for road use, the final installation—plugging it in—is left to the vehicle’s owner. Thankfully, there are no collisions, injuries or fatalities connected to the light bars as yet, but hopefully the problem will be rendered moot before it becomes serious.
Is Tesla a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on TSLA stock based on 14 Buys, 10 Holds, and 10 Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 76.76% rally in its share price over the past year, the average TSLA price target of $395.54 per share implies 11.86% downside risk.
