By Sean Wolfe

Electric car start-up Tesla Motors took some heat Wednesday from at least one potential customer who was put off by the idea that when the company takes deposits on one of its sleekly styled automobiles, it doesn’t put the money in escrow.

As noted by Randy Savicky, who when he’s not blogging is also president and CEO of Strategy + Communications, Inc., “If Tesla Motors goes belly-up after you give them $75,000, don't expect your money back. You will have no legal recourse, except maybe to fight for scraps in a bankruptcy court after the banks and creditors have taken the lion share.”

In fairness, Mr. Savicky is a big fan of the cars—calling them “a steal for the performance, looks, and electric-powered feature.” He just can’t believe that any company would take money in advance, and not protect its consumers from potential bankruptcy.

The Red Herring spoke with Mike Harrigan, vice president of customer service and support at Tesla Motors who said the company has no intention of altering its policy, nor does it make any secret of it.But if a customer doesn’t feel comfortable, they can get their money back.

“Anyone who deposits money can get their money back at anytime, up to the date of delivery. If we go bankrupt, that won’t happen, but we’re up front, and tell people they’re taking a risk,” he said.

He adds that there are many precedents for such a policy. In its early phases jetmaker Eclipse didn’t put customer money in escrow—though it does so now. And most car companies do the same thing, he added.

The company has taken 222 pre-orders for its 2007 model, of which 120 buyers put down the full price—$100,000, and the remainder put in $5,000.All told, a cool $12.5 million in the bank, in less than a month.

Mr. Harrigan notes that the company opened its waiting list earlier this year, because of consumer interest in the car—which is a Porsche-buster in terms of acceleration, has a 250-plus mile range, and a top speed of 120 miles per hour.

“Some were venture capitalists who didn’t invest, but wanted the car, some were friends of friends, and so on.”

So is Tesla using the waiting list to keep itself funded? Mr. Harrigan said that while the company is looking at securing new funding in the future, it’s not spending its waiting list money on the company.

“We just closed $40 million three months ago,” he said referring to the round led by VantagePoint Venture Partners and PayPal alumni Elon Musk, who is also the CEO of SpaceX, a rocket maker seeking to upend the defense contractor dominated market for suborbital boost services.

And, he adds, “The people who wanted to be on the waiting list were all wealthy people and happy to do it. I don’t think any of them feel uncomfortable. So I think the judgment that we’re financing the company through our customers is a little harsh.”