Contrary to the electric OEM’s announcement last month, Tesla will not be closing as many of its brick-and-mortar stores as originally planned, according to a company release.
Although the company didn’t offer specific numbers, Tesla said it will close about half as many stores than was previously announced. As a result, the expected 6% reduction in price point for the vehicles in its fleet will be halved to 3%, except for the baseline Model 3, whose $35,000 price tag will remain unchanged.
Tesla has already closed 10% of its sales locations. Another 20% will remain under review over the next few months and closures will be determined based on effectiveness. According to Tesla’s website, the company has 106 sales locations in the U.S.
The company continues to stand behind its online point-of-sale model. “To be clear, all sales worldwide will still be done online, in that potential Tesla owners coming in to stores will simply be shown how to order a Tesla on their phone in a few minutes,” the release said. Stores will also have a limited stock of inventory for customers who want to test-drive vehicles or drive away with a Tesla after purchase.
Tesla declined to comment further.
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