In Southern California, a scammer has been going after trucking companies claiming to be selling early models of the Tesla semi-truck. The truck has not yet been released but does have many people excited as most new releases from the auto maker do. To profit off of this anticipation, the supposed loose scammer has been contacting trucking companies and offering non-existent reservations. The have been at least four trucking companies from Southern California who have reported similar incidents.
The anticipation for the Tesla Semi has spanned years, having first been announced in 2017.
At the unveiling, Tesla began selling reservations for the truck. Each reservation got you a Tesla Semi when they were officially ready for market. The reservation costs $20,000, with a $5,000 deposit first required and ten days to pay the remaining $15,00. The Tesla trucks were first advertised with prices between $150,000 and $180,000. The final price would depend on what kind of battery pack the owner wanted.
The Tesla Semis were marketed as having major benefits, both financially and environmentally.
According to the company owned by Elon Musk, Tesla Semis would save owner operators up to $150,000 from fuel savings alone. The Semis seemingly have a battery life that will provide approximately 500 miles of driving before requiring another charge. Lastly, something that many Tesla car owners will be happy to hear about, the battery can recover 70% of its range in 30 minutes. Tesla cars are notorious for how long it takes them to charge up, leading some to be weary of the Tesla made semi-trucks. This quick charge would be possible with the Tesla Supercharger. Tesla is in the process of building and establishing a strong network of Superchargers throughout the United States.
PepsiCo is the only company to get some models thus far.
As a part of a pilot program, PepsiCo has a few Tesla Semis in operation. They are the only company to receive any of their reserved fleet, with others having no idea when they can expect to see their vehicles, as Tesla will not even begin their large-scale production of the Semis until 2025.
With all of this said, the scammers are finding trucking companies who have no reservation for the Tesla Semi currently. In addition to having no Tesla reservation, those who have been targeted already own and operate zero-emission vehicles and have unused HVIP vouchers from the California’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Program.
The victims of the scam have said they were first contacted via LinkedIn, then email.
The scammer claims to have 10 reservations for the Semi that they are now trying to get rid of. When their scam has become blatantly unsuccessful, the scammer has become aggressive in nature to the fleet owner. Be aware of any strange messages you get, whether you meet the aforementioned criteria or not.
