Popular tech and electric vehicle reviewer Marques Brownlee, also known as MKBHD, may have shocked the EV community by announcing he has cancelled one of two reservations he had for a yet-to-be-released Tesla Roadster from Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA).
What Happened: Brownlee has been a Tesla fan for years. His latest announcement, however, may create some bad blood with fans of the electric vehicle company and CEO Elon Musk.
"I cancelled my Tesla Roadster reservation," Brownlee announced on his Waveform Podcast recently.
The tech reviewer said it's been eight years since his initial reservation. Brownlee then clarified that this is one of two reservations he has for the second-generation Roadster vehicle promised by Tesla.
Brownlee initially paid $50,000 via payments of $5,000 and $45,000 to secure his reservation. Brownlee also said he has a free Tesla Roadster reserved as a referral reward. It’s expected to be a founder's version and one of the first 1,000 released.
"Tesla has been sitting with my 50 grand for eight years and hasn't done anything with it."
Brownlee said he decided he doesn't need two Roadsters, while also expressing pessimism that his Roadster will ever be delivered.
"Will still get one of the first 1,000 Roadsters, allegedly."
The YouTuber said he would do something else with the money. The co-hosts of the podcast proceeded to tell Brownlee that if he would have put his $50,000 into Tesla stock instead of the Roadster reservation, it would be worth $747,000.
"Tesla's just had that money the whole time," Brownlee responded.
Brownlee said he wouldn't get the first $5,000 placed as a deposit back during the podcast. He later said he did receive the full $50,000 reservation, as reported by Electrek.
Why It's Important: Brownlee cancelling the Tesla Roadster could limit optimism about the vehicle that was expected to enter production in 2020 and continues to have minimal updates from the electric vehicle company.
To make matters worse, Brownlee also shared how difficult it was to cancel his reservation and get his money back.
Unlike other Tesla reservations that have a cancel button in the account settings, Brownlee said there wasn't a button for the Roadster and instead a phone number to call.
He spent weeks leaving voicemails and talking to people who promised to handle the cancellation, only to have to call back two weeks later and get an update.
The Tesla website still allows users to reserve a Roadster, despite no timetable on the release of the vehicle.
Brownlee said that Musk or Tesla Chief Design Officer Franz von Holzhausen will often tease the vehicle in interviews where they say the company is still working on the vehicle and the specifications are better than originally promised.
News of Brownlee cancelling one of his Roadster reservations also follows his announcement last year that he sold his Cybertruck and preferred the Rivian R1T instead.
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