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Tesla Will Close Most of Its Stores, Only Sell Cars Online
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a call with reporters Thursday that the company will only sell its vehicles online. As a result, the electric carmaker will close most of its stores over the "next few months." The Verge reports: Tesla will keep some of its retail locations open, which the company described as "a small number of stores in high-traffic locations remaining as galleries, showcases and Tesla information centers." The decision to shift away from brick-and-mortar retail is necessary if the company is to remain financially sustainable, Tesla said. The company's finances have stabilized somewhat in recent months, but Tesla still operates on very tight margins. Tesla said in a blog post: "You can now buy a Tesla in North America via your phone in about 1 minute, and that capability will soon be extended worldwide. We are also making it much easier to try out and return a Tesla, so that a test drive prior to purchase isn't needed. You can now return a car within 7 days or 1,000 miles for a full refund. Quite literally, you could buy a Tesla, drive several hundred miles for a weekend road trip with friends and then return it for free."
The company announced the move at the same time it said it will finally begin to sell its long-promised $35,000 Model 3.
The company announced the move at the same time it said it will finally begin to sell its long-promised $35,000 Model 3.
It's literally the same as the previous post, but minus most of the information... and both were published by the same editor. What gives?
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
Just schedule the test drive then bruh.
Something like 500,000 people were willing to put a down payment on a Model 3 when Tesla started taking orders, years before the car was even in production. I don't think test drives are going to be a big issue here.
Anyway Tesla has stated that you can return the car within the first 7 days for a complete refund, so if you really want a test drive just go ahead and buy one. 7 days is a much longer test drive than you'll get from any other manufacturer.
You can still get a test drive. But also, Tesla doesn't need you. They've got thousands of people lined up to buy these cars. They're probably counting on word of mouth to keep things going for the foreseeable future, and from what I can tell, it's a viable plan.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
"Anyway Tesla has stated that you can return the car within the first 7 days for a complete refund"
People haven't even been able to get their deposits back, you think Tesla is going to give their $50k back? Tesla is broke, especially after the $billion payment due tomorrow.
And how does that work with the loan these buyers have to take out? Can't just cancel that for a refund, the bank will want interest on a buyout. That's a several thousand dollar test drive.
I think the more alarming part is no show rooms, no test drives. Tesla must be hoping to hell that people are so willing to buy their cars without being able to looking at or driving them beforehand and will just drop the cash. If they do then I guess Tesla will do pretty well from it but investors could perceive this as desperation.
If they have thousands of people lined up to buy their cars - then why can I order Model S and Model X in 2 weeks or so?
If they didn't, you could have one tomorrow.
Porsche will take away the buyers from the Model S and X.
Could very well be, but we'll see how it fares in the real world. I think the S will still do OK, but perhaps not the X.
Tesla is probably losing money on the lower end Model 3 (but may have positive cash flow).
Third party analysis says they should be making money on each unit.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"