Electric-car manufacturer Tesla has reversed a decision to close its showrooms and now says it will “keep significantly more stores open” than previously announced.
The company, which operates roughly 100 showrooms in the U.S., plus additional units overseas, had said that it would switch to an online-only sales operation in order to save money, which raised concerns among landlords that Tesla was about to violate its lease obligations. Many of Tesla’s stores are in shopping centers. The company announced Sunday that it will keep an unspecified number of units open after all, and moreover that it plans to reopen some that had already closed.
Many of Tesla's stores can be found in shopping centers
Some unproductive stores, however, will still close, regardless, according to Tesla. “Over the past two weeks, we have been closely evaluating every single Tesla retail location,” the company said in a published statement. “A few stores in high-visibility locations that were closed due to low through-put will be reopened, but with a smaller Tesla crew. In addition, there are another 20 percent of locations under review.”
All sales will continue to be conducted online, the company said. “And the generous return policy of 1,000 miles or seven days, whichever comes first, should alleviate the need for most test drives,” the company said. “However, cars will still be available for test drives at stores, at the potential Tesla owner’s request.”
By Edmund Mander
Director, Editor-In-Chief/SCT
