Have you heard about TVs made by Tesla? If not, it will likely happen soon. If Google, YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok know you are into TVs or Tesla (or both), you can expect to see some kind of content about the Tesla Smart TV.
In one video trumpeting the “Tesla Smart TV 2025,” Elon Musk is featured next to a bunch of futuristic-looking TVs. Other videos (there are many) and myriad articles feature messaging about how Tesla is here to “disrupt the TV market” and how “Musk has done it again.” You’ll learn that you can get a 75-inch Tesla TV for as little as $200, which, frankly, sounds too good to be true. (Yes, Tesla is a disruptor and that $200 price point on a 75-incher would certainly be a disruption, right?)
You can find Tesla TVs on Amazon, including Amazon US, but they’re not available for purchase, nor is there any indication of when they’ll be in stock. This begs the question: Is this a real product? Are Tesla TVs legit or are they a scam?
To answer, here are two statements that may seem conflicting: Yes, Tesla TVs are real, and yes, what you’re seeing is part of a dubious scam.
Tesla TVs are real, but not that Tesla
Again, Tesla TVs are real, but they aren’t what you think. Here’s a short history lesson to illustrate:
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American engineer, inventor, and all-around visionary. He is credited for inventing the first alternating current (AC) motor and electrical system that we still use in our homes today. When you plug your microwave, phone charger, or TV into a wall outlet you’re using Tesla’s invention. He was born on July 10, 1856 in the Austrian Empire and later immigrated to the US at age 28. Serbia takes pride in Tesla’s Serbian origins — there are at least five Serbian companies using the Tesla name. One of those businesses is Tesla Appliances (operating under the Comtrade Group), a company that makes washers, dryers, and, among other consumer goods, TVs.
So it’s true: Tesla TVs are a real thing, distributed mostly in Eastern Europe (as far as I can tell).
However, Tesla Appliances and the TVs it makes — with the Tesla brand name — have absolutely nothing to do with Elon Musk or the Tesla company based in the States that makes EVs, charging stations, and energy storage systems.
Why, then, are videos and websites featuring a tuxedoed Elon Musk next to those TVs? Why is there a glut of content trying to make people believe that Elon Musk is making TVs and that they’re the most disruptive, anti-establishment TVs ever?
That, my friends, is where the scam comes in.
The Tesla heater scam
There’s an eye-opening video from Ben Taylor called “I Bought a Heater from Elon Musk” on the YouTube channel Pleasant Green. He shares his experience of buying what was marketed as a game-changing space heater that (purportedly) used a hyper-efficient alpha heating element (or some such BS) that could heat a home for mere pennies. It’s definitely worth a watch, but here’s the gist:
The heater was a piece of crap, and perhaps even a straight-up fire hazard. It didn’t heat his room. Also, it was being sold under a dozen different brand names and for much less than Taylor paid — despite his “discounts” on the purchase. The heater had absolutely nothing to do with Elon Music or Tesla. In fact, it was “shipped” by a company that was “headquartered” in a UPS store’s mailbox in Florida.
The heater was marketed and sold by an individual who ran numerous companies and websites that sold junk and then drop-shipped it from who-knows-where, direct to the customer. Whoever owns that company probably made a tidy little profit off that heater sale in a scenario that looks something like: Buy it for two bucks, ship it for four bucks, collect $55 bucks, and make $49 dollars profit. Do that a bunch of times and you have yourself a nice little passive revenue stream. Have you ever wondered what those passive income videos lead you to if you pay up? Ideas like this.
That fake Elon Musk Tesla heater appears in a bunch of fake videos, fake reviews, and fake posts plastered all over the place, making it seem legitimate.
But what about Tesla TVs?
It’s the same situation with Tesla TVs. They are totally fake — at least in the sense that Elon Musk and that Tesla have nothing to do with the Tesla TVs that actually exist. In the “Tesla Smart TV 2025” video, the voiceover, script, and parts of the B-roll are all likely AI.
What makes this all so tricky and devious: Real photos and real videos of actual Tesla TVs can be mixed in with the fake stuff. If you’re not good at spotting deep fakes and AI-generated content — video or written — you could easily be duped into thinking that Elon Musk is out to disrupt the TV space.
Add in the facts that Tesla branded TVs are featured on the Tesla Appliance company’s website in multiple languages and the TVs are listed on Amazon, albeit not yet for sale. It’s understandable why some people might think these TVs are worth looking at.
The question remains: What is scam and what is real? Here’s what we’ve learned so far.
It is entirely possible that you could order a Tesla TV and receive one. It would probably come straight from Serbia or a warehouse in an adjacent country. However, once you receive it, you own it — and good luck returning it.
How good is the TV? I don’t know because I haven’t seen one. They were not at CES, as someone informed me — that was fake news too. If the opportunity to test a Tesla TV arrives, I won’t have high hopes. (Let’s just say I’ve tested super-cheap off brand TVs in my personal time and the experience was somewhat nightmarish.)
It is also possible that you could order a TV and receive nothing. Anyone willing to propagate false information likely lacks morals or ethical conscience. You could spend your money, never get a TV, and have zero recourse after countless interactions with bots posing as customer service agents via chat and email.
Tips for spotting a scam
Again: Tesla TVs are real, and they have nothing to do with Musk. There’s a whole scam around these TVs, and I do not recommend buying one. And if you’ve been misled, don’t waste time feeling embarrassed or frustrated. It happens.
Meanwhile, here are ways to fine-tune your scam radar or BS-detector and avoid being duped in the future.
- If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Question everything. Sure, Tesla is a disruptor, but is Tesla selling EVs for $2,000? No, so it doesn’t stand to reason it would sell TVs for $200 — even if they were designed to gather your data and spy on you all day (which, was one of the first things I thought when I briefly considered these to be actual Tesla TVs).
- If a reputable retailer isn’t selling the product, that’s a bad sign. Companies tend to use trusted channels to market and sell their products. Even if Musk’s Tesla did make a TV and wanted to eliminate the middle-man, it would be available on Tesla’s official website.
- Find out what experts in the field or industry have to say about a product you’re curious about. If none of the top TV reviewers are talking about the Tesla TV, that’s a red flag. And that’s why I’m talking about it now.
- Question the source of your information. If the website is unfamiliar, the YouTube channel has few subscribers, or the videos have suspiciously low views, question the legitimacy of the content. (Note: There are some legitimate websites showing the Tesla TV, however in most cases it’s the Serbian company that makes the TVs and review channels. However, I don’t know them and suggest taking what they say with a huge bucket of salt until I know more.)
- Get information from trustworthy sources. If those sources don’t have what you’re looking for, as for it. That’s why we’re talking about Tesla TVs here. When it comes to TVs, I’m a source folks trust and reach out to for guidance. (Just understand that this kind of thing can take off fast. I’m often aware of legitimate stuff before other journalists or YouTubers, but fake stuff can fly under my radar for weeks, or even months).
- More generally, learn how to spot fake videos and fake websites that spread false information. That’s just a necessary skill these days. Take the time to educate yourself.
I hope you found this helpful. Spread the word.