Tesla’s Yorkshire store faces closure
Tesla’s Leeds site is under threat after chief executive Elon Musk announced plans to move sales online.
The electric car manufacturer has a showroom on Whitehouse Street in Leeds as part of a 19-store network in the UK. It has been announced that only a “small number of stores in high-traffic locations” will survive the shift in strategy.
Tesla has been struggling in recent months to deliver on its ambitions, with challenges caused by manufacturing capacity, the car’s cost price and Musk’s occasionally-erratic public behaviour.
In an email to staff, Musk revealed Tesla will “shift all sales worldwide to online only”.
He said: “Last year, 78% of all Model 3 orders were placed online, rather than in a store, and 82% of customers bought their Model 3 without ever having taken a test drive.
“Shifting all sales online, combined with other ongoing cost efficiencies, will enable us to lower all vehicle prices by about 6% on average, allowing us to achieve the $35,000 Model 3 price point earlier than we expected.
“Over the next few months, we will be winding down many of our stores, with a small number of stores in high-traffic locations remaining as galleries, showcases and Tesla information centers.”
