Tesla Opens Dallas Showroom −
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Tesla Opens Dallas Showroom

tesla-dallasGovernor Rick Perry may be courting the Tesla Gigafactory, but so far his efforts to allow the electric automaker to sell its cars in Texas have fallen short. This hasn’t discouraged Elon Musk though, and Tesla is set to open its latest showroom in downtown Dallas, where salespeople can’t do much but explain what the Model S is all about.

That’s because Texas doesn’t allow Tesla’s direct sales business model, at least not yet. That means Tesla salespeople can only talk about the car, but not pricing, and they certainly can’t take you on a test drive. They can, however, direct you to the Tesla website, where you can play around with the Model S configurator and order a car for yourself.

From there though, Tesla has to ship the car to you via a third-party vendor, and also has to register the car in another state. It’s then up to you to re-register the car in Texas. There are also fewer repair options in the Lone Star State, as Tesla again has to hire third-party vendors to do the work, as Texas law prohibits them from fixing their own cars.

So what’s the purpose of the Texas gallery in the Northpark Center mall? Awareness, plain and simple. Now mall-goers will walk right past a Model S, and even have a chance to sit in one and see what all the fuss is about.

Eventually, Texas will get its act together and let Tesla sell its cars on the up-and-up…at least we hope.

 

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About the Author

A writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs, can be found wrenching or writing -- otherwise, he's running, because he's one of those crazy people who gets enjoyment from running insane distances.
  • BlackTalon53 .

    All these Teslas in Texas are being bought by wealthy, educated, well connected influential people – those who can afford them. I suspect they are becoming pretty annoyed by the hassle they have to put up with because their governor doesn’t want to do without NADA campaign money. If some of them decide to do something about it Perry’s strategy may turn out to be somewhat shortsighted.

    • Perry is supposedly supportive of Tesla selling in Texas. he got on Fox saying so and he has been trying to woo Tesla to Texas for months. my understanding is that it’s the legislature that isn’t.

      • Literally Anyone Else 2016

        It would make sense to allow it. Perry isnt big on government regulations and it would be a HUGE boon to texas to have Tesla move its operations there, but the texas legislature has gotta smell the job opportunities.