Consumer complaint received 2026-01-24 00:00:00
Product: Vehicle loan or lease — Lease
Issue: Repossession — Lender trying to repossess or disable the vehicle
Company: Tesla, Inc.
State: TN

Complaint narrative:
On XX/XX/XXXX, I ordered a XXXX  XXXX from Tesla. I paid the order fee and was approved for financing. On XX/XX/XXXX, I received payment of {$2600.00} and immediately attempted to submit the required down payment through the Tesla payment link. The transaction failed multiple times ( over 6 attempts on my original bank account ). I then opened a new XXXX XXXX account, transferred funds there, and tried againstill failed. I also attempted a wire transfernone of these worked. I have bank statements showing funds available ( {$2600.00} initially ) and proof of transfers/attempts. 
At the same time, Tesla provided no firm delivery date after my XXXX order. I quit my job, moved out of my apartment, and planned to start fresh relying on this car for a new life and job opportunities. With no delivery date, I had to start renting cars from XXXX daily/weekly and staying in hotels beginning in XXXX XXXXthis left me homeless for the first time in years. 
In XX/XX/XXXX, Tesla finally assigned a delivery date, but it was repeatedly delayed : first XX/XX/XXXX, then pushed to the XXXX, then to the XXXX. This forced me to sell personal items ( XXXX, laptop, phone ) to cover ongoing hotel and rental costs, and I took out a loan to keep renting from XXXX. By delivery day ( around XX/XX/XXXX ), I was homeless, jobless, moneyless, and in new debt from these expenses caused by Teslas delays. 
On delivery day, I still had about {$1200.00} left. I tried again to pay the remaining down payment using the link Tesla providedit appeared to initiate a debit but no money was actually taken or credited. Tesla contacted me saying the payment didnt work. I explained repeatedly ( via chat messages to Tesla support agents, which I have screenshots of ) that no payment option worked despite funds being available and multiple attempts. They suggested a cashiers check, but as someone who had never had a traditional bank account before, this was unfamiliar, and I was already completely broke from the delays. 
I worked legally through XXXX and XXXX XXXX to earn moneyIve made over {$7500.00} since XXXX XXXXbut I could never get the full amount together at once due to gig app limitations and the instability from being homeless. I paid the first monthly payment early in XX/XX/XXXX. Ive also paid over {$1900.00} in charging fees while using the car. 
I asked Tesla for help multiple times before and after delivery : grace period, early delivery to avoid homelessness, or extensions. I explained the situation not as an excuse but to fix their errors ( delivery delays + payment processing failure ). They ignored my pre-delivery warnings about the payment link not working. 
I requested until XX/XX/XXXX, to pay the agreed amounts, but couldnt accept offers on XXXX for days ( no orders available ), so I couldnt complete it then. Now in XX/XX/XXXX, Im running from tow trucks every day, havent slept properly, cant earn money consistently, and got deactivated on XXXX mid-batch because a tow truck showed up so fast I had to abandon the order to keep shelter. Its now snowing, making everything worse. 
I never intended to avoid paying TeslaI placed the order in good faith and tried everything possible. The issues stem from Teslas delivery delays causing homelessness and financial ruin starting XX/XX/XXXX, and their payment processing/system errors preventing successful down payment despite proof of funds and repeated attempts ( confirmed by XXXX XXXX reps who saw no transaction when I called to authorize, Tesla chat agents who received my messages, and XXXX  reps who heard me explain ongoing rentals while waiting ).

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation