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Transportation The Almighty Buck The Internet

Tesla Will Close Most of Its Stores, Only Sell Cars Online 96

Posted by BeauHD from the financially-stable dept.
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.
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Tesla Will Close Most of Its Stores, Only Sell Cars Online More

Tesla Will Close Most of Its Stores, Only Sell Cars Online

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  • Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Thursday February 28, 2019 @07:54PM (#58196882)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • Well then (Score:2, Interesting)

    by quonset ( 4839537 )

    No need to consider a Tesla. If I can't feel how it drives, how the seat feels, feedback from steering, wind and road noise, and everything else which can make or break such a purchase, I'll cross this off my list.

    For those that don't mind this, more power, but some of us like to know what we're getting before we put down cash.

    • Re: Well then (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Just schedule the test drive then bruh.

    • I think Musk has the same opinion of his hookers... or is that Trump.. I get them confused.

    • Re:Well then (Score:5, Insightful)

      by drinkypoo ( 153816 ) <drink@hyperlogos.org> on Thursday February 28, 2019 @09:27PM (#58197286) Homepage Journal

      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.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        It's more demand for electric cars in general. All the new ones coming out that are even half decent sell out almost immediately.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by vipvop ( 34876 )

        LOL no they don't, February sales numbers just came in and it's not looking good. Demand has dropped considerably

    • 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."

      • Re: Did you read the summary? (Score:1)

        by Anonymous Coward

        That does mean that you have to pay for the car before you test drive it. I'm not aware of any other car where you first have to pay the full price of before you can test drive.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by barius ( 1224526 )
      Did you RTFA? It says you can buy a Tesla, drive it 1000km and return it for free. That's considerably better than a "test drive", the only catch is that you have to be prepared to put down the cash on a downpayment. So, it's like a test drive except you have to give them your credit card for a deposit first. Honestly, seems like a perfectly fair requirement since you could just drive off and steal the car otherwise.

    • No need to consider a Tesla. If I can't feel how it drives, how the seat feels, feedback from steering, wind and road noise, and everything else which can make or break such a purchase, I'll cross this off my list.

      So you prefer to go to the dealship rather than say take advantage of a full 7 day trial that Tesla offer?

      In the words of the internet: WUT?

  • Mistake (Score:5, Interesting)

    by TWX ( 665546 ) on Thursday February 28, 2019 @08:17PM (#58196986)

    This is a mistake. A car is not like most other purchases, and while Teslas aren't cheap, Tesla isn't so far removed from traditional mass-market sales as to be able to take a page from luxury-performance makes like Ferrari and sell cars to buyers that haven't driven the particular model in question yet.

    Sure, there are some people that would be willing to buy a car untested, but I don't think that's most buyers, and I don't care how good Tesla's return policy is, it's a huge hassle to buy something incredibly expensive and to then return it, especially when financing is involved. It's not zero-risk.

    • Re: Mistake (Score:2, Insightful)

      by c6gunner ( 950153 )

      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.

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward

        "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.

        • How did this get modded up? Loans on cars are simple interest loans. There is no penalty for early payment. You can take out a loan today and pay it of tomorrow. Not that it really matters if you are credit worthy. Most dealers will "spot deliver" meaning they give you the car without payment because the loans take time to process and they don't want you to change your mind. Sales tax is certainly refundable is you return the purchase. Some fees that you pay to the state for title and registration ma

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by DrXym ( 126579 )

        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.

        I wonder how many of those were for a $35,000 car which they were misled to believe would be on sale from the get go. I wonder how many asked for their money back, or desperate to hold their place paid more than they original intended to spend.

        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.

        Oh that's great! So to test drive a car, you just need to have $35,000 plus taxes in your bank, transfer all that money to Tesla, wait for the money to clear, wait weeks/months for the car to be delivered, take time off work to take receipt, drive the car once, demand

    • Re:Mistake (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Darinbob ( 1142669 ) on Thursday February 28, 2019 @08:46PM (#58197146)

      For "most other purchases" I also need to see the item before I will buy it. The internet is a terrible way to sell things to be honest. I want to know if clothes will fit, I want to compare items nearby, see how heavy they are, and so forth. My friends who say they shop online also say they send back a lot of the stuff they get if it turns out to not fit or otherwise not what they wanted, but that seems amazingly wasteful.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by antdude ( 79039 )

        Ditto. I don't mind ordering online IF the product is the same exact model after seeing, trying, etc. physically in person in stores or someone.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by olddoc ( 152678 )
        I agree completely with you that the internet is a terrible way to buy/sell most things. It's good for repeat purchases of known items like furnace filters or 16GB SD cards. It is not good for buying a car or clothing.

  • Whatever (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    "Stuff that matters" Or is it "throw shit up and see what sticks" these days?

  • Over-complicated, failure prone vehicle.

    When this one fails, it's going to be bad. No repair, no parts, no support. Poor build quality.

    Yeah. Buy a car that you can't see. Just buy it online.

    • Over-complicated, failure prone vehicle.

      ICEs are baroque collections of parts whirling around one another. EVs aren't. Which one is over-complicated?

  • Next step... (Score:4, Funny)

    by LordHighExecutioner ( 4245243 ) on Friday March 01, 2019 @04:07AM (#58198312)
    ....to further reduce costs, Telsa will sell cars only in kit, to be assemled by the user.

  • At long last (Score:2, Insightful)

    by DrXym ( 126579 )
    It only took them 2 years to deliver what they promised in the first place. Interesting how even the press release is trying to upsell people to a version that gets a smidgen of extra range and acceleration for an extra $2000. Want to bet that this model is exactly the same as the base model but for some bytes in a file?

    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

    • All car makes have the $2000 upsell. Tesla's problem may be they won't have any more sales people to push the up sell.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by DrXym ( 126579 )
        Many cars do have an upsell. It normally consists of physical, tangible additions to the vehicle. e.g. a midrange model which adds features missing from the base model.

        In this case I suspect the $2000 buys you a signed software key. I'm sure the base model will also be subject to the usual other kinds of upselling where there is something more tangible being offered - paint job, rims, mood lighting or whatever.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by baerd ( 1290146 )
      I don't know why everyone is saying you won't be able to try before you buy or test drive, you can still do that you just won't be doing it ad-hoc at a dealer location you have to book it ahead of time. Assuming that's true then they aren't losing out on too much.

  • Much easier to test drive than to buy and return (Score:3)

    by olddoc ( 152678 ) on Friday March 01, 2019 @08:36AM (#58198786)
    I agree with all the posts that this is a mistake. There are so many questions you have with such a major purchase and they can only be answered with a test drive. Do the seats hurt my hips? Can I see out of the rear corner? How easy is it to load and unload the trunk? Also, Tesla tightly controls the repair market and things still go wrong on electric cars and they still need service centers. I feel they actually need to add more locations with all they cars they have out on the road. Yes the cars don't need oil changes, but you can still hit a pothole and bend a wheel and damage a control arm. Your A/C fan motor can start to make noises. The window channel can become damaged and your window won't go down and up. There are 300,000 people in the metropolitan area I live in and the nearest Tesla location for service is 1 hour away. They need to add locations, not subtract and they need to hire and train more people for service work.
    • I mentioned this in a previous post but this is likely a 7 day test drive and not a buy and return in the sense that the vehicle won't be titled to you until after the seven day period is up.

    • There are 300,000 people in the metropolitan area I live in and the nearest Tesla location for service is 1 hour away. They need to add locations, not subtract and they need to hire and train more people for service work.

      This news is not about service centers (although you can view and test drive there). It's solely about the standalone showrooms such as the ones in major malls (in the USA).
      Tesla has said it's planning to open lots more service centers, BTW. Progress there is slow; but they are definitely not closing any service center.

  • Missing the point (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    I'm shocked people aren't catching on to what's happening here. Tesla is aggressively positioned in the market. Competitors are trying to ramp up their own EVs with mixed success, and they're doing it slowly. If they get up to full production the traditional manufacturers could muscle Tesla out of the market.

    So what does Musk do? He pushes the envelope to dump cars at a desirable price to SATURATE THE MARKET. He's sucking down market share... pulling the air out of the room. EVs still have drawbacks, the l

  • I'm thinking this is in a big part a reaction to the massive stones they've put into Teslas way, trying to force them into a traditional retailer model instead of direct sales. After a while you ask yourself if the hassle is really worth it.

    For the moment anyway the order queues are full, so not a big deal. But I would be surprised if not at least one person inside Tesla is thinking about a new approach that doesn't have the issues the old one had. I quite like the "showroom" idea. Maybe if you can't buy a

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