Tesla announced plans to open the first store based in Boston last month to be located in the Shops at the Prudential Center, and now Tesla has confirmed its plans to open two more stores in the Greater Boston area.
Expanding in Boston area
The first of the two locations will open next month at the Derby Street Shoppes in Hingham. On a future date, Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) will open its second store, for which it is targeting Chestnut Hill. The Prudential Center store will open to the public On Friday.
Tesla spokesperson Alexis Georgeson sees this move of expanding its presence in the Boston market as a sensible one. In a phone interview with Boston.com, the executive said, “People in New England are educated, interested in technology, and have shown a strong demand for the Model S. It’s a testament to the strength of the market that we’re expanding so rapidly in the area.”
It will be possible for customers to learn more about electric vehicles and customize their own Model S electric sedan when visiting the store. Customers are even allowed to test the self-driving feature of the car – Autopilot — on a Model S.
Tesla reinventing customer experience
Tesla does not see itself as a car dealership; but rather it highlights advanced electric car technology. The company has made a commitment to reinvent the car-buying experience for customers, and the key to this is placing its newest stores in shopping centers.
“Traditionally, we put our stores in high foot-traffic locations like malls and shopping centers where we can educate people on electronic vehicle technology,” Georgeson said.
Tesla distinguishes itself from conventional car dealers in several ways, and location is just one way to do so. The automaker will surely need more stores, as recently CEO Elon Musk said the company could “conceivably” go beyond half a million cars, and in the long term, the company wants to try to sell several million cars. On being asked if it was possible for Tesla to become as big as General Motors or Toyota, Musk said that doing so is not out of the question.
On Tuesday, Tesla shares closed down 3.92% at $216.50. Year to date, the stock is down by almost 3% while in the last one month, it is down by almost 2%.
