Tesla is looking for real estate in the Northeast to ‘open lots of service centers,’ says president of automotive

Tesla is looking to buy more real estate in the Northeast to ‘open lots of service centers’, according to a new post by Tesla President of Automotive Jerome Guillen.

Last year, Tesla made several statements about expanding service after CEO Elon Musk admitted a “foolish oversight” of Tesla’s service coverage and plans to open many more service centers around the world.

The growth has been relatively slow, with Tesla opening only 21 new locations worldwide between October 2019 and March 2020.

As of the last report, Tesla stores and service centers were growing at 15% year-over-year versus 40% for global deliveries.

But we have seen more effort on the service front over the last few months.

Last month, we reported on Tesla looking for new locations in order to expand its service capacity in several markets, including the Bay Area, Atlanta, Puerto Rico, and more.

Tesla President of Automotive Jerome Guillen now says that the automaker is looking for new real estate professionals to help Tesla get more properties in the Northeast to expand service.

He wrote on LinkedIn:

“Looking for exceptional commercial real estate professionals to join the team and help us open lots of service centers in the Northeast. If you feel qualified and are keen on joining us on this exciting journey, please apply!”

Tesla describes the Real Estate Manager role in a listing on its website:

“Tesla is seeking a Real Estate Manager for the Northeast US region.  You will be responsible for increasing the footprint of locations supporting the specified line of business in your designated region.  You will also collaborate cross functionally with internal teams including Sales, Service, Retail Development, Construction and Design as well as Legal, Finance and Lease Administration and external partners including landlords, developers, brokers and advisers to lead and complete new location development.”

Tesla has found more success on the West Coast in the US, but CEO Elon Musk has previously said that he sees room to grow in the Northeast, where it has previously been limited when it comes to its retail presence in some states like New York and Connecticut due to direct sale laws.

The CEO says that expanding service centers and the Supercharger network are Tesla’s two best ways to bring in more customers.