Hello all, I looked for some anecdotes online while the following happened to me during my Model Y delivery, but I couldn't find any. Hopefully my experience can give someone else comfort if they run into the same and can find this post.
Tl;dr: if you make your final payment via Plaid ACH, do not disconnect anything until the money actually leaves your bank account. This is probably common sense knowledge, but I didn't know/do it.
I scheduled delivery of my Model Y for Saturday, October 22nd in Columbus, OH. I finished all the pre-delivery tasks in the app before the delivery appointment except for the final payment. On delivery day, the associate had us sign various paperwork including titling information for Indiana (we found an inventory car in Ohio, but we would register in Indiana). At the end the associate handed us the key cards, and we told the associate that we have not submitted final payment yet, and would only do so after inspecting the vehicle. The associate had no issues with that, and let us look around and inside the vehicle.
Everything looked fine, and so we submitted the final payment via Plaid ACH on the app. After connecting it via our bank, the app mentioned that the payment was successful, and we accepted delivery of the vehicle and drove off. The funds had not left our bank yet. However, I disconnected Plaid and my bank account from the Tesla app and also disconnected "Tesla via Plaid" from my bank's app for my own digital privacy paranoia. I just assumed that payment were made, and we were all good since I was able to literally drive off.
5 days pass and I continuously checked our bank to see if the funds were debited. However, after 5 days on October 27th, I started to get worried because it felt odd that Tesla still had not taken payment. I texted the number that informed me of my Model Y order asking for confirmation of payment receipt by Tesla. Later that morning, Tesla Columbus called me and left a message stating that our ACH payment actually bounced. They did not know the reason, but I am pretty sure it is because I removed the connection with Plaid too early; I had the necessary funds still sitting in my bank account.
The said "it is not a big deal" and to just take a cashier's check to the Indianapolis Tesla service center and to write my order number (i.e. RN######) in the memo line. I did that the same day and the associates at the Indianapolis Tesla service center also confirmed that my payment bounced. I handed them the check and left after they said "You're good now". They mentioned that the processing of the check would not be immediate since the "people that do that weren't in office at the moment".
The next day, I texted the automated Tesla number again giving exact details of what I did, the check number, and the amount and asked again for confirmation. Tesla texted back saying that they would get back to me. Finally, on Monday, October 31st Tesla texted me again confirming receipt of my payment and that "I'm all set".
So, for anyone thinking of making an ACH final payment via Plaid on the app, I recommend waiting until the funds are actually debited and leave your account before disconnecting. I did not want to just have a car I did not pay for and get in trouble somehow later on. It felt odd that I had to contact Tesla instead of the other way around, but in the end it all worked out.
Tl;dr: if you make your final payment via Plaid ACH, do not disconnect anything until the money actually leaves your bank account. This is probably common sense knowledge, but I didn't know/do it.
I scheduled delivery of my Model Y for Saturday, October 22nd in Columbus, OH. I finished all the pre-delivery tasks in the app before the delivery appointment except for the final payment. On delivery day, the associate had us sign various paperwork including titling information for Indiana (we found an inventory car in Ohio, but we would register in Indiana). At the end the associate handed us the key cards, and we told the associate that we have not submitted final payment yet, and would only do so after inspecting the vehicle. The associate had no issues with that, and let us look around and inside the vehicle.
Everything looked fine, and so we submitted the final payment via Plaid ACH on the app. After connecting it via our bank, the app mentioned that the payment was successful, and we accepted delivery of the vehicle and drove off. The funds had not left our bank yet. However, I disconnected Plaid and my bank account from the Tesla app and also disconnected "Tesla via Plaid" from my bank's app for my own digital privacy paranoia. I just assumed that payment were made, and we were all good since I was able to literally drive off.
5 days pass and I continuously checked our bank to see if the funds were debited. However, after 5 days on October 27th, I started to get worried because it felt odd that Tesla still had not taken payment. I texted the number that informed me of my Model Y order asking for confirmation of payment receipt by Tesla. Later that morning, Tesla Columbus called me and left a message stating that our ACH payment actually bounced. They did not know the reason, but I am pretty sure it is because I removed the connection with Plaid too early; I had the necessary funds still sitting in my bank account.
The said "it is not a big deal" and to just take a cashier's check to the Indianapolis Tesla service center and to write my order number (i.e. RN######) in the memo line. I did that the same day and the associates at the Indianapolis Tesla service center also confirmed that my payment bounced. I handed them the check and left after they said "You're good now". They mentioned that the processing of the check would not be immediate since the "people that do that weren't in office at the moment".
The next day, I texted the automated Tesla number again giving exact details of what I did, the check number, and the amount and asked again for confirmation. Tesla texted back saying that they would get back to me. Finally, on Monday, October 31st Tesla texted me again confirming receipt of my payment and that "I'm all set".
So, for anyone thinking of making an ACH final payment via Plaid on the app, I recommend waiting until the funds are actually debited and leave your account before disconnecting. I did not want to just have a car I did not pay for and get in trouble somehow later on. It felt odd that I had to contact Tesla instead of the other way around, but in the end it all worked out.
