Tesla Stores

[dpeilow]

With Betas coming off the line later this year, there should be example Model Ss in store pretty soon. I wonder if they'll keep some demo Roadsters just to fill the hole? Anyway, if there is a gap, it's going to be a few months rather than 12.

 

[doug]

Tesla had a workaround for the Texas thing. Didn't we cover it on TMC before?

Which workaround are you referring to? Could you elaborate?

The S-1 filing addressed the issue somewhat. http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000119312510017054/ds1.htm
The relevant bits are on page 17 and page 117

Automobile Manufacturer and Dealer Regulation

State law regulates the manufacture, distribution and sale of automobiles, and generally requires motor vehicle manufacturers and dealers to be licensed. We are registered as both a motor vehicle manufacturer and dealer in the states of California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois and Washington, and we are licensed as a motor vehicle dealer in the state of New York.

To the extent possible, we plan to secure dealer licenses and engage in activities as a motor vehicle dealer in other states as appropriate and necessary as we open additional Tesla stores. Some states, such as Texas, do not permit automobile manufacturers to be licensed as dealers or to act in the capacity of a dealer. To sell vehicles to residents of states where we are not licensed as a dealer, to the extent permitted by local law, both the actual sale and all activities related to the sale would generally have to occur out of state. In this scenario, it is possible that activities related to marketing, advertising, taking orders, taking reservations and reservation payments, and delivering vehicles could be viewed by a state as conducting unlicensed activities in the state or otherwise violating the state’s motor vehicle industry laws. Regulators in these states may require us to hold and meet the requirements of appropriate dealer or other licenses and, in states in which manufacturers are prohibited from acting as dealers, may otherwise prohibit or impact our planned activities.

In jurisdictions where we do not have a Tesla store, a customer may try to purchase our vehicles over the internet. However, some states, such as Kansas, have laws providing that a manufacturer cannot deliver a vehicle to a resident of such state except through a dealer licensed to do business in that state which may be interpreted to require us to open a store in the state of Kansas in order to sell vehicles to Kansas residents. Such laws may be interpreted to require us to open a store in such state before we sell vehicles to residents of such states. In some states where we have opened a viewing “gallery” that is not a full retail location, it is possible that a state regulator could take the position that activities at our gallery constitute an unlicensed motor vehicle dealership and thereby violates applicable manufacturer-dealer laws. For example, the state of Colorado required us to obtain dealer and manufacturer licenses in the state in order to operate our gallery in Colorado. Although we would prefer that a state regulator address any concerns of this nature by discussing such concerns with us and requesting voluntary compliance, a state could also take action against us, including levying fines or requiring that we refrain from certain activities at that location. In addition, some states have requirements that service facilities be available with respect to vehicles sold in the state, which may be interpreted to also require that service facilities be available with respect to vehicles sold over the internet to residents of the state thereby limiting our ability to sell vehicles in states where we do not maintain service facilities.

 

[vfx]

I was vague 'cause I don;t remember the specific or even if I heard it here.

Something like they put together a shell dealership that they could sell out of. Something like that. Very fuzzy in my brain right now, ...with little chance of clearing...

 

[PopSmith]

Which workaround are you referring to? Could you elaborate?

I think vfx is talking about the dealership law(s) in Texas that make it so vehicle manufactures can not sell their vehicles directly to consumers. Basically, car companies are required to have a dealership in order to sell vehicles in the state. This means Tesla's Store(s) in the state would have to be operated separately from the company.

I Googled around and couldn't find anything concrete on the matter, though (which might be why vfx was being vague).

 

[vfx]

Exactly Pop!

 

[AndrewBissell]

FYI, the London Store in Cheval Place closed on 21 June 2011. Service has moved elsewhere (in line with the new model of separating Store and Service locations). A London Store will re-open somewhere else at some time "once a suitable location has been found".

 

[S-2000 Roadster]

in line with the new model of separating Store and Service locations

That might be a good plan where required by law, but I don't think it's a good model in general. The Seattle Tesla Store benefits from current owners mingling with prospective customers while in for service. I brought my 2.5 in for minor servicing and a free charge, and ended up giving a ride to a prospect. He made it clear that every word I uttered as an owner was worth 100 words from a salesman.

In other words, I hope Tesla Stores combine sales and service everywhere it is legal.

 

[vfx]

He made it clear that every word I uttered as an owner was worth 100 words from a salesman..l.

Don't get that kind of vibe at our place.

 

[S-2000 Roadster]

Don't get that kind of vibe at our place.

...ugh, do they have the impression that owners complain so much that it is bad for sales?

 

[vfx]

[SIZE=+1]Electric Cars May Fill Space of Departing Businesses on the Promenade[/SIZE]

By Jason Islas
Lookout Staff
August 9, 2011– Citing the departure of businesses near Wilshire Boulevard on Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade, City Councilmembers Bob Holbrook and Terry O’Day will ask staff Tuesday to write up an ordinance that will allow auto retail in the area.
“There's a large space becoming available at the north end of the Promenade,” Holbrook told The LookoutMonday.
Tesla Motors is eager to lease the property, but according to Chapter 9 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code, they can't, said Holbrook.
Though auto retail is not specifically prohibited by Chapter 9 from setting up shop in the Bayside District 1 – which includes the Promenade – there is a provision that excludes “any use not specifically authorized.”
At the moment, auto retail is not included in the uses permitted in Bayside District 1.
But Holbrook pointed out that the scope of Tesla's business downtown would be limited to selling and showing new cars.
“We want to keep it fairly narrow,” O'Day told The Lookout, adding there will be “no inventory or repair.” They would also limit the size of the retail space and allow only the sale of alternative fuel vehicles, which Tesla Motors sells exclusively.
Both O'Day and Holbrook think that Tesla's alternative fuel vehicles are a good fit in Santa Monica.
There are already a couple of alternative fuel vehicle companies that do business in Santa Monica, but none are on the Promenade.
“We don't have anything on our premier sales block, where you reach the whole world,” said O'Day. He thought that allowing a company like Tesla access to the prime sales location would help bring attention to electric cars.
It just doesn't make sense to send Santa Monicans to West Los Angeles – the location of the nearest Tesla store – if they want to buy an electric vehicle, said O’Day.
“If someone were to buy a $30,000 car, we'd want that sale to happen within Santa Monica city limits,” he said. It would keep trips down and support the buy-local movement that has grown popular in recent years.
Tesla's store in San Jose's Santana Row – a similarly pedestrian-friendly shopping center – could possibly serve as a model for the retail space on the Promenade, O'Day said.
Holbrook said that an auto retailer in a major shopping area is not all that uncommon. The idea first occurred to him, he said, while watching the The Blues Brothers. A scene in which the two main characters are driving a car through a major shopping center features an auto retailer.
The sight of an auto retailer in a shopping center caused Holbrook to wonder if this was a work of fiction or if this was a common practice.
After looking into the issue, he found that, in fact, modest showrooms in shopping centers are not at all uncommon.
Holbrook hopes that the matter will be concluded by the end of this year.
-Mark T.

For those who don't know the 3rd street Promenade is a walking street open mall.
​

 

[Adm]

Tesla has opened a Tesla Store and a service centre in Eindhoven. Well, they are operational and the official opening is supposed to take place in September. I really hope they will work in the interior a little bit. The Eindhoven store will be servicing the Benelux region and the northern part of Germany.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.153936708018040.40170.100002051340339&type=1

http://www.teslamotors.com/benelux

 

[Adm]

This article mentions a Tesla store to be opened in Norway in 6-9 months.

http://www.elbil.no/elbiler/430-elbilen-tesla-etablerer-seg-i-norge

The Tesla representative also mentions Model S will be introduced in Geneva in 2012.

 

[dpeilow]

Face off

 

[TEG]

Face off

Seems like a fair 'fight'...
Lose (F40)... Win (328GTS)... Win (F348)... Close (F360)... Win... ...
Doesn't look like anyone brought any Enzos or 458s to take the Roadster to task.

 

[TEG]

Face off

Isn't there a forum 'rule' that says you are supposed to hyperlink flickr pix back to the source page?

 

[NigelM]

This article mentions a Tesla store to be opened in Norway in 6-9 months.

http://www.elbil.no/elbiler/430-elbilen-tesla-etablerer-seg-i-norge

I heard from a sales guy that Oslo has the highest Roadster ownership density. (Probably because of the enormous taxes on new cars that EV's are exempt from!)

 

[jaanton]

I heard from a sales guy that Oslo has the highest Roadster ownership density. (Probably because of the enormous taxes on new cars that EV's are exempt from!)

I very much doubt that. You can't walk around Mountain View, CA without spotting some Roadster. It's the perfect car for the well-to-do post-startup computer geek. It's such a problem I change how I drive my Roadster when I'm there. The problem is that that kind of surgical driving the car affords such as warping into an open spot on the freeway is a problem if there is another Roadster planning to do the same thing from the other direction. I'm waiting for the first multiple Roadster accident and hoping I'm not in it.

 

[S-2000 Roadster]

I'm waiting for the first multiple Roadster accident and hoping I'm not in it.

Uh, yeah, especially with Tesla sales staff recommending that the solution to the limited visibility (mirrors, side pillars) is to use the accelerator pedal before a lane change. There's usually a tell-tale snicker at the end of any such suggestion, hinting that it shouldn't be taken seriously, but...

 

[Doug_G]

Uh, yeah, especially with Tesla sales staff recommending that the solution to the limited visibility (mirrors, side pillars) is to use the accelerator pedal before a lane change. There's usually a tell-tale snicker at the end of any such suggestion, hinting that it shouldn't be taken seriously, but...

The real solution is multivex mirrors. Oh, and hitting the throttle before changing lanes.

 

[vfx]

... I'm waiting for the first multiple Roadster accident and hoping I'm not in it.

It's been said the first two cars in Kansas ran into each other.