I saw it with my own two eyes but could not believe it. I was monitoring the Manheim Dallas auction a week ago Wednesday, February 28, as I always do on Wednesdays, and saw a Cybertruck from Tesla in the lineup. Manheim is only available to licensed car dealers. It is believed to be the first Cybertruck sold at auction since they started selling them in the U.S.
I was not sure what the Foundation Series was, but a little research showed me that this series has more options and is about $20,000 higher than the regular Cybertruck. The Foundation has a starting price of $102,235. Tesla has not revealed how many of this edition will be produced.
The truck was offered by CarPro Show friends www.GiveMeTheVin.com, and they opened the bidding at $200,000. I really didn’t expect it to go higher than that and it is common for the auctioneers to start a vehicle high and drop the opening price until the bidders start raising the price. The truck, with 69-miles on the odometer started advancing and when the smoke cleared, Porsche South Orlando was the high bid at $244,000, well more than twice what the window sticker was. The buyer must also pay a buyer’s fee to Manheim and provide transportation costs from Dallas to Orlando.
YouTuber Hoovies Garage captured the auction action on video:
The identity of the original owner was not disclosed. The likely reason is Tesla has a “no flipping” policy and it threatens in its purchase agreement to sue anyone selling a Cybertruck within a year will be sued for $50,000 without express permission from the electric car automaker.
According to Automotive News celebrities seen driving a Cybertruck were reality-show personality Kim Kardashian, film director Spike Lee, tennis star Serena Williams and musician Pharrell Williams.
The Florida dealership had listed it for $289,000 but the listing is no longer up.
Two more Tesla Cybertrucks were sold this week by our friends at GiveMeTheVin.com. However, it appears the crazy-money market suddenly cooled off from the one above.
On Wednesday, March 6, 2024 one with 228 miles sold for $195,500. A second one with 789 miles gaveled for $189,000. Remember, the buyers had to pay Manheim Auctions a buyer's fee and likely had to arrange transportation from Manhiem Dallas Auction, also.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.