Tesla expands its virtual sales presence with remote test drives

Tesla is expanding its new sales strategy of using virtual sales advisers with remote test drive locations to Europe.

In the summer of 2021, Electrek exclusively reported that Tesla was implementing a new sales strategy. At the time, we reported that the main changes were that the automaker was moving away from high-rent locations in malls and shopping districts in favor of delivery centers and remote test drives.

The strategy is again focused on online sales, but Tesla has recognized that physical presence is still necessary to enable test drives.

When someone used to place an order for a Tesla vehicle online in North America, the customer was assigned a “Tesla Advisor” at their local store to help manage the process leading up to the delivery.

Instead, Tesla started to assign orders to “virtual sales advisors” not assigned to any specific stores, and customers could go to cheap remote test drive locations with Tesla vehicles in parking lots.

The company has been gradually implementing this new strategy in North America. Tesla has now expanded its strategy to Europe with its first remote test drive hub location in Sweden:

Tesla explains the simple process of using the location:

Book an appointment at http://tesla.com → call us when you’ve arrived → we remotely unlock the vehicle for you & walk you through the basics → test drive for 30 mins → drop off vehicle at the same location.

This enables Tesla to operate these locations with very few staff. The company simply needs to make sure those vehicles stay clean and charged.

When we first reported on the new strategy in 2021, sources told Electrek that Tesla was already seeing some success with the first few locations in the US.

Now that the company is expanding this strategy in Europe, we have to assume that the automaker is happy with it and has decided to implement it in new markets.