I will say so far, buying a Tesla as an American in Germany has been a struggle. I have delivery set for a few days out and I'm trying to pay for my MX, but Tesla says it does not take a bank check only a bank transfer. Normally this would be fine, but as an American military individual I am able to purchase the car without VAT (MwSt.) and I have to get certain forms signed and go through bureaucratic hoops. However, the US VAT office has to sign off on the checks to the vendor. So I have Tesla saying no check and the American VAT office saying only with a check. Tesla, take my money! One possible option that my adviser told me was maybe my bank can make a check out to Tesla Motor GmbH and take it to their bank (Citibank) and deposit the check into their account. Is it possible for me to deposit money into their account without any signatures from Tesla? So confusing. Any thoughts or options would be greatly appreciated.
You can send money to any account without preapproval or authorization. This is the basis of wires and SEPA (=the common "bank transfer" in DE). Ostensibly you can "deposit" to their account. The real question is the bureaucracy of the US side recognizing only a check, which is dead in most of the world. They should recognize a SEPA slip or other bank confirmation documents.
Thanks for the explanation. I agree the US VAT office is a bit dated. However, I was a bit confused on how Tesla would not work with a cashiers check from the bank. In the states you can use a personal check if you wanted.
Across Europe everything I've done P2P, B2C, and B2B are done by SEPA. While in sure they exist, in 10 years I've never seen a paper check here whether personal or cashier/certified
Not sure why you're buying a EU spec Tesla while stationed here, you can't take it back stateside when you PCS. What base? I have a US spec 3 here and can help with any questions about having a US spec while youre stationed here.
I am eager to learn how this worked out for you. I too am an American in Germany and I just placed a deposit for a MY, for when they start production next year. I will be here for a number of years, so I am not concerned about shipping it back to the US.
I'm a teacher here in Europe, so I can be here for a long time if i choose to be. So no worries about having a Euro spec car
So in the end, The VAT office raised the issue up to IMCOM Europe level and essentially made Tesla take a Euro Check. The crazy thing was when I brought the check in to Tesla on delivery day it was like no big deal.