Click above for high-res gallery from Tesla's Flagship Store grand opening
Tesla Motors has found enough time in between suing and getting sued by its suppliers to open its first dealership in Los Angeles, CA today. Located on the corner of Santa Monica and Sepulveda boulevards, the $2 million dealership sprawls 10,000 square feet and features poured concrete floors, an exposed ceiling of ductwork and beams, mirrors and potted plants. This is no Chipotle, however, as the first Tesla dealership will be staffed by salaried Tesla employees, not traditional salespeople who work on commission. Another dealership is in the works near Silicon Valley closer to the company's HQ, but we're not sure when that one will open.
Clearly modeled on the highly successful Apple Store experiment, the Tesla factory store is as much about educating the public and building brand awareness as it is about selling Tesla Roadsters. And that's a good thing, as there are no Tesla Roadsters to sell right now. The fledgling automaker has already sold 600 cars and has a waiting list 400 strong, but to date only four have been built. The first car went to Tesla Motors chairman and chief financier Elon Musk, while car #2 is earmarked for forced-out co-founder Martin Eberhard who has delayed delivery of his Tesla Roadster until its custom pain job is ready. Car #4 has been spotted at the Top Marques Monaco show with U2 frontman Bono behind the wheel, while car #3 should be on its way to an actual customer's garage.
[Source: AutoblogGreen, Photos by Vince Bucci/Getty]
James Garner recovering from mild stroke
VIDEO: God's ringtone is a V10-powered Audi R8
IIHS releases official results on the smart fortwo
Tragedy at LeMons: Send love and a little bit more
Officially Official: New Ferrari California exposed!
In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang
Future Classic: 1984 Chrysler Minivans
Autoline on Autoblog with John McElroy
First Drive: 2009 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen
Project Track Slut, Part One: Pick a weapon on the cheap
_thumbnail.jpg "Lamborghini Reventon unboxed in Las Vegas")
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
tt @ May 2nd 2008 3:38PM
saw a red tesla on my way to work this morning going northbound on the 405 near the santa monica exit.
Andy @ May 2nd 2008 3:43PM
"custom pain job"? A commentary about the co-founder?
Zane @ May 3rd 2008 1:20AM
LOL.. never thought the ex co-founder would be interested in BDSM.. *wink wink* It looks as if he's following in the footsteps of the great Max Mosley.
Brandon @ May 2nd 2008 3:44PM
Man I hope these guys succeed. I can't to see what the White Star looks like.
zamafir @ May 2nd 2008 4:12PM
.. worse then the karma.
compy386 @ May 2nd 2008 3:52PM
I think they've fundamentally misunderstood the purpose of a dealership...
Ken @ May 2nd 2008 3:57PM
Always
Be
Closing
joe @ May 2nd 2008 4:08PM
if they have nothing to sell in the foreseeable future, i don't understand why they would even bother opening it yet-- that's got to be a big waste of money. do they service the cars there if things break? or do they plan on ramping up production really fast such that they need more pre-orders? is brand awareness really a big deal if you are the only electric sports car maker and there is news about every move you make toward full production?
Ferg @ May 2nd 2008 4:11PM
I think the dealership will help promote the car to people that don't really know about the car. Not everyone reads automotive sites all day like a lot of us here.
I'm sure much of the public is blind to this. The dealership will help with word of mouth advertising as well as drive by future customers.
zamafir @ May 2nd 2008 4:15PM
I'm not so sure. Imagine you've wandered into the dealership while walking down the main drag. Imagine your typical questions:
"how much?"
'north of $100,000'
"how many have u sold?"
'ugh... pre-sold a little more then VW manages to move R32s in a month... but we've only delivered 3 or so'
"oh... well... when could I expect to receive one if i placed a deposit?"
'ugh... I don't know'
"can i drive one?"
'well, we only have a few you see, and if you crash one then we'll just have shiny cement floors in here because we have a few production cars and some old mules/prototypes so no'
"you're crazy."
Andrew @ May 2nd 2008 5:29PM
haha - you could have stopped after the first sentence - no one walks in Los Angeles
Crosby @ May 2nd 2008 4:14PM
I saw a yellow tesla about two months ago just outside of San Franciso, doesn't seem to be any of the cars mentioned here.
tankd0g @ May 2nd 2008 4:30PM
Perhaps you just saw an Elise. This thing isn't sufficiently different looking from the car it's based on to look like anything special on the road.
tankd0g @ May 2nd 2008 4:17PM
They just had to compare it to Apple. This thing is now officially doomed.
coreymarion @ May 2nd 2008 5:02PM
Yeah, because those Apple Stores have been a complete bomb...http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/27/business/27apple.html
tankd0g @ May 2nd 2008 6:38PM
NOTHING that has tried to copy Apple has been sucessful at doing so. You need the mighty cult leader Jobs, he is the key to selling techno style over substance on a massive scale.
sparky @ May 2nd 2008 4:32PM
ummmm, is that a gas cap I see driver's side?
sk @ May 2nd 2008 4:38PM
No, thats the plug
Jared @ May 2nd 2008 4:40PM
Tesla doesn't know how to build cars, but they sure do know how to write press releases and get free publicity.
kentavos @ May 2nd 2008 5:17PM
I said it before and I'll say it again, this is a horrible idea. The above poster who said they completely missed the point of a dealership hit it on the head.
I like Tesla a lot. I've been a huge fan for a long time. But I don't see how this style of Hollywood dealership will ever make any type of financial sense.
Eventually you'll have to either scale back the free lattes and the salaried staff or start pushing sales to pay for the lattes and staff. Either way will make you look like a sell-out.