Tesla Motors has made its fair share of allies and critics alike, what with the questionable legality of its direct-to-consumer sales approach. But regardless of which side you stand on regarding that particular ongoing debate, you must admit: those who run the enterprise certainly know how to stir up consumer interest.
Alas, the legacy continues, as a Tesla Motors pop-up store has just started touring the United States in an attempt to reach the automaker’s target affluent audience where they vacation. The mobile store just made its premier over the holiday weekend, springing up in Santa Barbara, California. After the month is through, it will move on to the Hamptons.
Time reports that this Tesla Motors pop-up store breaks down to the size of roughly four shipping containers, and it’s about twice that when fully assembled. A release from the automaker states that the store allows customers to “learn about electric driving with enticing visuals and interactive displays,” and Model S test-drives can even be arranged on-location.
What’s most surprising isn’t the novelty of the gimmick, but that there are already apparently three similar Tesla Motors pop-up stores touring Europe, currently stationed in Denmark, France, and Switzerland. But it’s really in the US that the mobile store will likely prove most useful, as it’s an approach that automakers and franchise dealers alike would have a hard time following. Automakers would be forced to defer test-drives and orders to nearby dealers in order to avoid interfering in the local franchisees’ dealings, and dealers would have little reason to venture beyond their own localities since the majority of their money is made through repairs and maintenance.
Time also notes that Tesla’s sales-per-square-foot are around twice that of Apple – the company previously believed to have the highest in the world. Considering that, the impact of these Tesla Motors pop-up stores may well prove unsurpassed; with no investment in permanent brick-and-mortar outlets, the carmaker can still set up shop wherever the numbers suggest they should, and reach exactly their target demo.
No Comments yet