Nearly A Quarter Of Tesla Model 3 Reservations Reportedly Refunded

Perhaps the most striking thing about the reveal of the Tesla Model 3 two years ago was the flurry of deposits that came in for the BMW 3-series-sized EV. In the first 24 hours alone, nearly 200,000 people stumped up $1000 to go on the waiting list.

Now though, it seems many aren’t willing to wait for the Californian company to solve its long-running production woes and actually start building Model 3s to the level required to clear the order backlog. Citing data from Second Measure, Recode is reporting that a whopping 23 per cent of deposits for the car have now been returned.

This could be problematic for Tesla’s already precarious financial position. According to a recent report from Bloomberg, Tesla holds $854 million of customer deposits, which the publication pointed out are effectively “interest-free loans.” They aren’t enough on their own to stop Tesla going bankrupt before the year is out without raising addition funds, but customers asking for their money back in droves isn’t exactly going to help.

Recode was contacted by a Tesla spokesperson, who told it that “Second Measure’s data does not align with its internal data,” adding that they “would not be more specific as to how far off it is.”