Tesla buyers asked to pay back €4,000 in Germany, Tesla says it will cover costs - Sensationalist Headlines

Tesla’s continued issues with the German government over electric vehicle incentives are now impacting buyers retroactively as some are being asked to pay back the €4,000 EV incentive that they received from the government. The automaker is appealing the decision and confirmed to Electrek that it will cover the cost of the incentive until it is resolved. ... In order to make the Model S eligible to the incentive, Tesla unbundled a bunch of standard features as an option in Model S in order to reduce the base price to 60,000 € negotiated by the government and the German auto industry before tax. They made this move in November 2016 and year later, German car magazine Auto-Bild published a report claiming to now being able to see through Tesla’s “deception” and going as far as calling it “fraud” and “cheating”. They claimed that buyers weren’t actually able to buy a Model S without those options, something that Tesla denied. The automaker said that they not only offer the option but that some vehicles were delivered without the features. A few months later, the matter was apparently fixed in March when the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) allowed back access to the incentive for Model S buyers. Now in a strange twist after having agreed that the Model S qualifies, BAFA is asking people who bought a Model S before March to pay back the incentive. Tesla buyers are asked to pay back €4,000 EV incentive in German..

That's utter bollocks to expect the buyers to pay back 4K either way.

Am I understanding this correctly, they paid 4k for each EV and now want the money back? What the fuck?

From how I am reading it, this is the series of events that happened: Tesla sold Model S's to German buyers under the pretense that the German government would pay €4000 of the price per car. In order for the Model S to be eligible, its price had to be under €60,000; to make that, Tesla stripped several features from the cars they sold to German buyers. After purchases were already made, the German government then decided that the stripped Model S's weren't "fully functional cars," and that the stripping was effectively selling broken cars to get the government to pay the €4000. Tesla argued that this was not the case, and that the cars are fully functional with those features stripped. They managed to convince the German government that this was the case, and so the government allowed the €4000-per-car to be paid. Some time later yet, the German government arbitrary decided again that the Model S's are not eligible for the €4000-per-car, and are now demanding that every German buyer who took advantage of the €4000 program pay the government that money back. Tesla is hitting back at the German government, saying the decision is arbitrary and in bad faith, since they allegedly already had come to an agreement. They are trying to convince the German government to continue the €4000-per-car program, and have promised the company that published this article that they will pay whatever dues the German government are asking of Tesla buyers, until such time as this can be resolved. That's what I can gather has happened anyways, from the article. If anyone feels I got something wrong, please feel free to correct me. I haven't had a finger on this thing at all, so I have no deeper insight beyond what the article managed to yield to me.

To correct #4, the Model S is still eligible, and if bought one now you'd get the 4 grand off. The government is just wanting money back for Tesla's bought before march.

Really comes across as some pencil pusher was going through records, saw this then didnt bother to chase it up, instead pushed it though and now causing hell on all sides.