Tesla Model S. Image via Tesla Motors
Electric car company Tesla is planning to open 10 new stores across North America this autumn. Each of the company’s new retail stores will feature ‘design studios’ for people to create their own Tesla Model S electric sedan on a touchscreen, before viewing it on a video wall display.
Based in Palo Alto, California, Tesla was co-founded by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk, who is also behind SpaceX, the first private company to ever launch a spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) back in May.
Incidentally, NASA has just announced today that SpaceX will be carrying out the first contracted cargo resupply flight to the ISS on 7 October.
As for Tesla, the first of its upcoming new stores is set to open in Garden City, New York, today. More stores are set to follow in the Boston area at Natick Mall, followed by the Chicago area at Westfield Old Orchard. In October and November, Tesla is planning to open new stores in New Jersey, San Diego, Florida, Virginia, and in Topanga, California.
The company will also be opening its first Canadian store in Toronto in November.
“As we open locations throughout the country, our approach continues to be geared towards engaging and informing more people about Tesla and Model S and the technology behind it,” said Tesla’s George Blankenship.
After these openings, Tesla is set to have 24 stores in North America, as well as 34 retail outlets globally.
In June, the electric car maker released its first batch of the all-electric sedan, the Model S, in the US. The car has a base price tag of around US$49,900, after a US$7,500 federal tax credit. Deliveries of the Model S in Europe and Asia are set to begin in early and mid-2013, respectively.
Tesla apparently lost around US$1bn when selling its earlier electric sports car model, the Roadster.
