It shouldn’t be this easy to accidentally sign up for $14,186.25 of Tesla upgrades. But that is what Dominic Preuss was charged after someone borrowed his Tesla. But not intentionally. Preuss is Google’s Director of Product Management. 

Owner says he was accidentally charged over $14,000 when his father-in-law double-clicked the shifter

He tweeted, “If you double click the shift panel twice and accidentally engage the Autopilot in the Model 3, you are automatically charged $14,100 if you didn’t previously purchase Autopilot.” He was also tagged for both Autopilot and Full Self-Driving Capability. These aren’t autonomous driving systems. These extra aids add distance control to cruise control and increased steering assistance. 

Preuss tweeted that after informing the company he received an email confirmation, the purchase was canceled. But this was the first actual confirmation he received from Tesla. There had been no password prompts, credit card alerts, or notices from them that the purchase had been made. 

He was able to cancel the purchase with his Model 3 infotainment center. If this happens to you, going into “manage upgrades” in the menu will get the ball rolling. So there are some issues that Tesla needs to improve upon. 

This isn’t the first time a Tesla customer was accidentally charged for an upgrade

There have been other reports of accidentally being charged large fees for upgrades. Another Model 3 owner accidentally bought Autopilot by merely taking his phone out of his pocket to charge it. He was tapped for $4,280. The other downside was that this owner found it harder to get a refund. So the good news is that Tesla is making it easier to get a refund. 

There are some that dispute this could happen. They say it is impossible to be charged by double-clicking the shifter is the conventional way of engaging Autopilot. There have also been questions raised about getting a refund through the Model 3’s infotainment center.

Some argue that the only way to order it is by using the phone app or through its website. Hey, we can only report on what we read in forums and tweets. Since the company has no public relations department there is no way to get their side. But while some may dispute how this could happen, there is much evidence Tesla has had issues with charging customers.

Some Tesla buyers were double charged for their cars

In March it was reported that a number of new car buyers found they were double charged for their new Tesla. This happened with the company’s “contactless” delivery system. At a minimum, that’s over $70,000 for at least a $38,000 base Model 3. Some have complained they received overdraft fees and finance charges as a result. 

But according to crime prevention expert Dave Excell, duplicate charges are a rather common problem with e-commerce. He told CNBC, “The best thing is to go back to the merchant and let them know an error occurred. Ask them to reverse or refund the money. That should be the easiest way.”