The much-hyped first Tesla dealership in Vermont opened in March in South Burlington, but some potential buyers of its popular electric vehicles still can’t get cars there.
In late May, a salesperson was telling customers they could buy a Tesla online and pick it up at the dealership if they had their own financing: cash or a personal auto loan. But to use Tesla’s financing and low-interest offers, customers had to make a five-hour, 278-mile drive to Paramus, New Jersey, to get their vehicles while the local dealership works on setting up its computer system.
It’s a journey that current Tesla owners in Vermont know well, having had to travel to New Jersey to pick up their Model 3 and Model Y. They may have had reason to celebrate in January, when the car company announced it would open the South Burlington dealership in the former Hannaford supermarket on Shelburne Road. They can now take their Teslas for repair or maintenance closer to home, instead of driving to Tesla service centers in Massachusetts or upstate New York.
“It’s going to make life a lot easier for New Englanders,” said White River Junction resident Michelle Lewis, who owns a Model 3 and writes for Electrek, an online magazine focused on electric vehicles. “It will make a big difference if they need something done.”
Tesla dealers do not sell cars for buyers to drive directly from the dealership. All Tesla customers must place orders through the electric vehicle maker’s website. At the South Burlington location, employees can answer questions and help customers place orders, whether they arrive there or in New Jersey.
An employee at the South Burlington dealership told a reporter from The Other Paper that he and other workers need corporate approval from Texas-based Tesla for news coverage. Multiple attempts to contact Tesla officials by email and phone to request permission to conduct local interviews were unsuccessful.
Inside the sleek, nearly empty dealership in South Burlington, the main attraction is the 2024 Cybertruck, a sharp-angled, 19-foot-long stainless steel electric pickup truck that Tesla recently launched. Several Teslas in the parking lot are available for test drives.
Todd Lockwood, director of the Vermont Tesla Owners Group and owner of a Model Y and a Model 3, said he spends almost every day at the new dealership, getting to know local staff and customers. He brings his morning coffee there and says he sees the dealership’s service department is busy.
“The team they have working there is really fantastic,” he said.
Lockwood said he hopes the opening of the dealership will lead to more Vermonters choosing Teslas when looking for a fuel-efficient driving option. “There are many, many people in the area who are probably going to buy a Tesla, but they were waiting until there was a service facility within a reasonable distance,” Lockwood said.
The South Burlington dealership began operations when Tesla experienced a significant slowdown in sales, according to its recent financial results. In April, the company announced an 8.7% drop in revenue and a 55% drop in profits for the first quarter of the year, compared to the same period in 2023. It has since laid off hundreds of employees. , according to press reports.
Still, electric vehicle experts said Tesla sales remain strong in Vermont. Auto sales data shows that Teslas make up just over a quarter of the roughly 9,000 electric vehicles registered in Vermont, said David Roberts, senior consultant and electric vehicle expert at Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, or VEIC, the nonprofit organization. Winooski nonprofit that runs the state’s energy-efficiency utility. The number is growing, he added.
“We’ve seen a very steep increase over the last year and a half,” Roberts said.
The cost-effectiveness of driving electric vehicles, as well as the state’s commitment to accessible charging, has driven Vermonters’ interest in Teslas and electric vehicles in general, Roberts said. Vermont has the most charging stations per capita in the country, she said.
Nationwide, the shift toward electric vehicles is similar, according to Lewis, the Electrek writer. The automobile market is changing and so are the dealers. “I always compared this to going from the horse to the Model T,” he said, referring to Ford Motor Company’s original mass-produced car. “This is not optional. “We are moving away from gas.”
Correction (6/3/24): Seller was talking to customers in late May.
Sarah Andrews reported this story for the Vermont Community Newspaper Group. The Community News Service is a program in which University of Vermont students work with professional editors to provide content to local news outlets at no cost.
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