New Stores in the North East

[ModelS1079]

I'll post details incl the MA corp entity after I'm done celebrating with tesla at the bar

And you know how psyched (and jealous) I am. Sushi? I mean, isn't that tradition?

- - - Updated - - -

Gents just great. Enjoy the moment.

[Robert.Boston]

And here I came home, like a good family man! Sheesh. GeorgeB owes me a drink.

[cinergi]

I just got home. What an enormous showing! We took up more than half the room.

LOL @Robert and @Jim. Jim, I can literally hear your voice saying "Gents just great." hehe
Robert -- nice representation up there. You've clearly done this before. Very calm, put together; great arguments. Loved it.
Wendy (store manager) -- nicely done! Really impressed with how calm and collected you were up there. I'd be a nervous wreck Here's another high-five to ya!
Tom (customer -- not sure he's on here?) -- also good to hear from you up there!

Clearly everyone was on board from a "Tesla's cool and they're doing cool things" and it all came down to the board issuing a license if they believe it wasn't illegal to do so. As the Chairman put it, they have the authority to grant the license. And, legally speaking, everything's legal. The only point of contention, really, was the bit about Tesla Motors, Inc. selling directly to the consumer. That's why 1) There's a Tesla Motors MA, Inc., 2) there's a third building acting as the sales facility and 3) the sales and service will be under Tesla Motors MA. Granted, Tesla Motors MA is solely owned by Tesla Motors, and whether that's "in the spirit of the law" has some people worried, but the board was (mostly) willing to see beyond that.

I almost felt like going up there and saying "guys, stop talking about Tesla, innovation, blah blah blah and just talk about this one primary concern -- the idea of the manufacturer selling directly to the customer; get to the legality -- is the Tesla MA corp enough? Is that still an issue? Can you do something like "license only valid if no franchises" sort of thing? ...." An amazing amount of time felt wasted to me going on about what turned out to be irrelevant stuff and it was starting to put me on edge. Luckily the Chairman reigned it in (also really liked him). Both he (Mr. Joseph) and Mr. Ostroff "spoke my language" -- well-informed, smart individuals. The legal representation seemed top notch (Tesla and town counsel, at least). Really enjoyed hearing their concise to-the-point information.

MetroWest Daily News has it: Natick selectmen grant license to Tesla cars - Framingham, MA - The MetroWest Daily News

Never attended anything like this before; I know virtually nothing about how government works or the law. I'm honored to have been a part of it.

Board of Selectmen, etc: http://natickma.virtualtownhall.net/...dex?textPage=1
Agenda: http://natickma.virtualtownhall.net/...enda/I019F4560
Looks like they're behind on the minutes (a couple months -- but the dates don't quite line up right?) so no link there.

[ShortArc]

Very interesting. @cinergi, thank you for providing the information and links!

[aronth5]

Hi, guys -- Will Nicholas (the NE Regional Sales Manager) explicitly asked that I keep news of this meeting off the forums.

Good thing I didn't find the Board of Selectman meeting agenda until after it happened

[radiod77]

This is great news, I wonder how soon the test drives will start.

[Robert.Boston]

Tesla has some work to do:

• Assign the lease at 251 West Central St, Natick from Tesla Motors to Tesla Motors Massachusetts
• Demonstrate this assignment to the town clerk or someone similar
• Wait for the Registrar to formally issue the Class 1 Dealer license
• Build out the sales space at 251 West Central St
• Hire and train appropriate sales staff

Note that Tesla has made a concession to Natick, which GeorgeB described as unique: it's maintaining the Gallery in the mall (which isn't zoned to allow car sales) and opening a storefront in a strip mall to conduct the sales (including test drives).

Kudos to Tesla for choosing a site that is on public transportation, albeit commuter rail. It bothers me to no end that, with few exceptions, to buy a car you need to go somewhere accessible only by car.

[hj-45]

Good news. More forward momentum for the company. Thanks to those who attended. Hard to imagine customers showing this kind of support for another domestic automaker. I hope this new location gets set up quickly. I can really use a Tesla fix since I won't be seeing my 40kw car until April.