Tesla is launching a new retail offensive with a focus on malls

Tesla is significantly expanding its retail presence this week with 11 new stores in the US and it’s focusing on locations inside malls with foot traffic.

Here are all the new locations announced by Tesla today:

• Victoria Gardens, Rancho Cucamonga, CA
• Del Amo, Torrance, CA
• Fashion Square, Sherman Oaks, CA
• Roseville Galleria, Roseville, CA
• Dallas Galleria, Dallas TX
• La Cantera, San Antonio TX
• Christiana, Newark DE
• Florida Mall, Orlando FL
• Coconut Point, Estero FL
• Southpark, Charlotte NC
• Roosevelt Field, Garden City NY

All of the new stores are located in malls, which is not a normal strategy for automakers in the US, but it’s something that Tesla has been championing for a few years.

At first, Tesla deployed a few retail locations inside high-end malls in the US, which is in line with its strategy as a premium brand.

The automaker’s retail strategy was similar to Apple, which is not surprising considering both models have been established by the same person: George Blankenship.

Blankenship led Apple’s early retail effort from 2000 to 2006 and did the same at Tesla between 2010 and 2013. A few different executives have led Tesla’s retail effort since.

Tesla took advantage of the foot traffic in its mall locations and it turned out to be quite successful.

Last year, Tesla claimed its stores dwarf Apple Store’s record $5,500 in sales per square foot.

The automaker now appears to be doubling down on locations inside malls as it now expands to smaller and less ‘high-end’ malls.

The company is expanding its retail footprint as it brings the Model 3 to market and significantly increases the number of vehicles it needs to sell per week.

With the 11 new locations opening this week, Tesla has now over 120 stores, galleries, and service centers in the US.

Electrek’s Take

So far, Tesla has been able to increase deliveries with the Model 3 without too much new retail capacity thanks to its many reservation holders requiring less labor than the average customer.

But as they expand beyond reservation holders, they need to be able to give test drives and handle orders, which requires new retail locations and more staff.

I think we are going to see a lot more locations come online by the end of the year in order to support the sale volume coming due to the Model 3.