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Please help. Is it normal for Tesla to take money and cancel Vin Number?

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We ordered MYLR 7s 09/XX/2021, Southern CA. No additional options. First EDD was on February. Of course, EDD has been continuously pushed out.

On 9/22/2022, we finally got a vin. Tesla sales person congratulated us, and told us we should expect to pick up our car within a few days. We added EAP, uploaded insurance and payment information. (Tesla sales person said that adding EAP is a software update, and should not affect our delivery)
On 9/24/2022, the Vin disappeared.
On 9/26/2022, Tesla took our money. I panicked, and went to Tesla. The sales person said apparently the car with the vin # had a wrong body color, so they cancelled our vin. He also said Tesla will "prioritize" my case to match a new vin soon, and should expect to pick up the car on 10/04/2022.
On 10/03/2022, no vin assigned yet, so I called Tesla. The sales person said I should expect to receive a new vin # between 10/04/2022-10/18/2022. Based on the extended delays over the year, I have 0 trust in their prediction. The sales person also said that I can ask for a refund, but the refund process will take 4~6 weeks. Meanwhile, if I have a car matched during that 4~6 weeks period, then I would have to make another payment. Unfortunately, I don't have additional 70k.

What's even worse is that my friend in the same neighborhood ordered his model Y on March 2022, paid almost 82~85k (MYP with FSD), and just picked up his car last week.

Anyone with the similar experience? Or please advise if you have any suggestions.
 
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Correct me if I'm wrong; it sounds like you opted to pay for the vehicle in full upfront?

In that case I think it would be risky to request a refund (as you noted) as you may not get it back in time if you get a new date soon. As you said I would not put any trust in their predictions; you could get a VIN next week or in a month.

In this case I would just leave the funds with them and wait. Not a great option but I don't see another alternative. I believe the 7-seat option is what is slowing your order down. Mine took just over a year to be delivered. Then I ordered a performance model and it took a few days :eyeroll:. Based on market performance now you probably are better off paying now instead of keeping the money invested elsewhere lol.
 
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I think I would just wait it out and hope that Tesla gets you a car in the next couple weeks (I know that is giving them a lot of credit that they don't deserve).
One thing I've read on these forums over and over is never pay until the car is sitting in front of you and you've inspected it. Tesla always allows you to show up with a certified check and pay the day of delivery.

Even more surprising is your friend's MYP taking 6 months. Most March orders were filled within 3 months and now you can get a MYP in a month from ordering.
 
What you describe has happened to many buyers in Germany and Switzerland (where zu spend most of my forum reading time). Sorry man. It sucks. They have your money now and may not really feel pressured to find you a quick match until quarter end when they need to count deliveries.
 
One thing I've read on these forums over and over is never pay until the car is sitting in front of you and you've inspected it. Tesla always allows you to show up with a certified check and pay the day of delivery.
More importantly that is typical commercial practice. In the US with ACH in the Tesla App it is easy to pay after you view the car. No need for certified checks.