The Tesla Model 3 has a waiting list of over 300,000 people and at least one of them will die before receiving their dream car. As of 2013, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s statistics show that there were approximately 821 deaths per 100,000 people, and the new Tesla model is not scheduled to ship until late 2017. Each person on the waitlist put down a $1,000 refundable deposit and signed a contract that blocks transfers to another buyer. Perhaps, some of these future Tesla owners thought ahead and listed their reservation in their will, but you cannot bequeath a right or property you do not own. The contract signed by these future owners also explicitly states that the reservation is not transferable or assignable without written approval from Tesla. So far there are no known deaths on this Tesla waitlist.
See Polly Mosendz, What Happens When You Die Waiting for a Tesla?, Bloomberg, July 13, 2016.
Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) & Gordon Fowler (Attorney, Atlanta, Georgia) for bringing this Article to my attention.
