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Dealers claim factory-owned Tesla stores are illegal

Unlike typical dealers, Tesla has a network of "stores" and "retail stores." While reservations can be made for a new Model S or Roadster at the retail store, Tesla says other versions of the store merely direct potential customers to make their reservation online. Most of these boutique-style stores are in shopping malls, and Tesla asserts that they are not sales facilities. It's an assertion with which traditional auto dealers are taking issue.
Dealers associations and networks across the country are doubling down their efforts to make Tesla's OEM showroom network illegal. Tesla has opened 17 stores in 10 states, as well as the District of Columbia.
Dealership associations contend Tesla's notion that sales are not made at these stores, stating that the showroom experience is still part of the sales process. To that end, dealer groups across the country have embarked in legal battles with the electric carmaker. The Illinois Secretary of State has informed Tesla that it is illegal to list CEO Elon Musk as the owner of its Chicago store. The Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association is looking into legal options against Telsa's Westchester store, as well as two others in New York. In Massachusetts, the opening of a store in the suburban Natick Mall is having its legality challenged by the dealer association in that state. California has laws in place that allow for a manufacturer to run its own dealership, as long as it is not within 10 miles of an existing dealer. That practice caught the ire of Chrysler dealers when the American automaker opened its own multi-brand showroom near downtown Los Angeles.

Elon Musk raises the stakes for Tesla Motors

Falling gas prices, production delays and weakened demand in a key market would send shudders through the CEOs of most automakers. None of those problems could dent the enthusiasm Tesla Motors CEO and co-founder Elon Musk has for a vision of an electric-car future. In a rare appearance Tuesday on the home turf of the Big Three automakers in Detroit, Musk said those factors wouldn't hinder Tesla Motors' growth over the next five to ten years. In fact, he revised the company's sales projections upwards, even as he said Tesla may not turn a profit for five more years. Previously, Musk had said he wanted the company to sell 500,000 vehicles by 2020. In more than an hour's worth of wide-ranging remarks at the Automotive News World Congress, he said, "I think we'll try to aim to do more cars than that. I think we'll continue past that. We probably should get to a few million cars by 2025. We could probably get to a few million cars per year." Spate Of Recent Complications Not that Tesla Motors' rise to prominence through a global economic recession hasn't already defied conventional wisdom, but the upward figures came despite recent complications that will only make that sort of sales climb more difficult. Gas prices fell to a national average of $2.11 per gallon Tuesday, and many automakers fret this plunge will make the sale of electric vehicles far more difficult. "I don't think it will affect the S or X," Musk said Tuesday. Production of the Model X – an all-electric crossover that features gullwing doors that would give Tesla Motors an immediate entrant in the fastest-growing vehicle segment – has been delayed for two years while the Fremont, CA-based company focused its limited production capabilities on its Model S and worked on complications with the X. "It's been two steps forward, one step back," Musk said. "Really, it was important to me that the doors were not just a gimmick, but a fundamental improvement to the functionality of the cars." Another hurdle for Tesla: Musk said Tuesday that sales had weakened in China during the fourth quarter of 2014. Exact sales figures were not known because Tesla does not release them, but Musk said growth slowed because customers there had overestimated the difficulty in installing and maintaining charging equipment; he said the "miscommunication" had been corrected and that the company has already seen an uptick in sales.

Woz pranks the Internet with 'his' Tesla Model X

This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. People pay attention to Steve Wozniak. People pay attention to Tesla Motors. Put the two together, with the bonus of a not-yet-available Model X, and you've got the makings of Twitter gold. This was proven yesterday, when Woz Tweeted a picture of himself with what he said was "our new Tesla!" Excited admirers offered their congratulations and wanted to see the cool Falcon doors in action. But it was all a dream too sweet. The Model X, after all, isn't due until the end of the year and even an Apple co-founder can't bend time that much. Tech editor at The Street Chris Ciaccia popped the bubble with this Tweeted explanation: "Despite @stevewoz tweeting a pic of him w/the Model X, not his new car. Just a photo op with the display model at that charging station." So, really, "Woz's" Model X could belong to anyone who wants to go to wherever the display model is located and snap a picture. We would not be surprised, though, if Woz is one of the 12,000 (guesstimated) pre-orders for the Model X. The all-wheel drive, all-electric CUV can hit 60 miles per hour in under five seconds thanks to a powertrain similar to the one in the Model S. Like the popular S, the X will come with either a 60- or 85-kWh battery. You can see the Falcon doors move up and down, digitally, here.