Less than two weeks after announcing plans to close a majority of its stores, Tesla is reversing course.
In a statement, the automaker said it has been “closely evaluating every single Tesla retail location” and has now decided to “keep significantly more stores open than previously announced.” This is good news for employees, but it could only be temporary as Tesla noted they will continue to evaluate their stores over the next several months.
More specifically, Tesla said approximately 20% of their stores are under review and their fate will be decided by their effectiveness over the course of the next few months. Depending on how successful these stores are, some will close while others will remain open.
Tesla also revealed some stores in “high visibility locations” will be reopened. However, these locations will have a smaller staff as they weren’t performing up to expectations.
Thanks to all these changes, Tesla will only close about half of their stores. This will cost Tesla more money than originally planned and they’re passing on that expense to consumers.
Starting next week, Tesla will raise the prices of its vehicle by an average of 3%. The price increase won’t affect the $35,000 Model 3, but it will impact the Model S and Model X as well as more expensive versions of the Model 3.
Despite keeping more stores open, Tesla said all sales will still be done online. Store staff will be able to assist customers with their order and stores will keep a “small number of cars” in inventory for anyone who wants to take immediate delivery. Stores will also have cars available for test drives and this is good news for anyone who isn’t a fan of buying a car without ever driving it.
