Sam Altman's Failed $50,000 Tesla Roadster Refund After 7.5-Year Wait Highlights Tesla's Production Delays

Sam Altman, OpenAI's CEO, recently shared his frustration about failing to receive a $50,000 refund for a Tesla Roadster he reserved back in 2018. Through social media, Altman documented his attempt to cancel the reservation after waiting 7.5 years for the vehicle that still hasn't entered production.

In a post captioned "A tale in three acts," Altman displayed screenshots of his initial Roadster booking and the subsequent error message received when attempting to request a refund. His cancellation message read: "Hi, I'd like to cancel my reservation. Could you please refund me the $50k?"

Despite his initial enthusiasm for the electric sports car, Altman expressed that the extended wait had become unreasonable. "I really was excited for the car! And I understand delays. But 7.5 years has felt like a long time to wait," he noted in his message.

Unfortunately, his refund request email to reservations@tesla.com bounced back with an error message indicating the email address could not be found.

Altman isn't alone in his Roadster reservation struggles. Popular tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) shared a similar experience in September, revealing he had reserved two Tesla Roadsters in 2017.

"Tesla has been sitting with my 50 grand for eight years and hasn't done anything with it, obviously," Brownlee stated on his Waveform Podcast. He mentioned canceling one of his two reservations after paying an initial $5,000 deposit followed by an additional $45,000 within ten days.

Brownlee highlighted the difficulties in the cancellation process, noting there was no simple online cancellation button available. After several days of phone calls and voicemails, he eventually received a $45,000 check from Tesla, with the company retaining his initial $5,000 deposit.

The Tesla Roadster was unveiled with considerable excitement in 2017. The company promised impressive specifications, including acceleration from 0 to 96 kmph in just 1.9 seconds, a top speed of 402 kmph, and a remarkable range of 997 kilometers (620 miles).

However, the sports car never reached production stages. In 2024, Tesla CEO Elon Musk explained the delay by stating that the Roadster was "the cherry on the icing on the cake" with "other projects taking precedence before its launch." As of Tesla's July earnings release, the Roadster was still listed as being in "design development."