Tesla Opens London Dealer

Tesla is expanding! In more ways than one. The company has plans to open four new stores in the United States, as well as opening dealers internationally. Tesla has an unique way of selling it's vehicles that seems to be working out quite well for them.

Each Tesla dealer is company owned and operated, which means they have the final say and control over everything. They set the prices, hire the salespeople, etc. There's nearly no downside to the "retail outlet" method for a high-end manufacturer like Tesla.

The flagship store for Tesla's European foray is just being opened in London, a 5,000 sq. feet showroom in the high-end Knightsbridge district, not too far from the Heathrow Airport. Other planned European locations include stores in Monaco, Munich (home to BMW) and Zurich. Over 1,300 European orders for the Roadster have already been taken, with the first 250 Signature Edition Roadsters being delivered this summer.

The first 250 are priced at £94,000 ($132,000 USD at Current Exchange Rates) but apparently a right-hand drive "entry level" (similar to the base car in the United States) will go on sale in the U.K the first quarter of next year.

It's great that Tesla is able to keep up growth by expanding internationally; they still are working to chip down the waiting list for Roadsters in the United States and this should help ensure they're running at full capacity for a while to come.