Invading Britain: Tesla opens new flagship store in London, right hand drive Roadsters coming soon
Tesla store - Click for high resolution image gallery
What sort of location is fitting for a new dealership for a new iconic electric car in London? One good choice would be in the Knightsbridge. Specifically, on Cheval Place, within walking distance from the high-class department store Harrods and in a building was, until recently, used by the Segrave Supercar Club (sort of a ZipCar for the rich). This is the location of Tesla Motor's new showroom in the UK. Tesla will also soon open regional sales and service centers in Monaco, Munich and Zurich, and four new stores in the United States. Britons can purchase their Tesla Roadsters at prices starting at £94,000 on the road and, since these are pure EVs, the cars quality for a lot of tax exemptions, such as VAT (sales tax) reduction, no Congestion Charge, no Luxury Tax, free parking and free charging. Even better, for Britons at least, is that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has confirmet right-hand drive Roadsters for early 2010.
"Thanks to an abundance of discriminating drivers and progressive public policy, Tesla is already well known in Europe," Musk said. "We expect the London store to dramatically increase our brand identity throughout the continent, and with right hand drive models now due at the beginning of next year, the UK market will provide a solid foundation on which to build this."
Gallery: Tesla Flagship Dealer in London
[Source: Tesla]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
duinneeile 11:14AM (6/26/2009)
nice i will be in london in september i never saw their car in the flesh yet.
with the price of petrol and the fact that electric cars can drive for free in london Tesla should have no problem moving the roadster and model S
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Richard in FLA 11:16AM (6/26/2009)
Can anyone specify the savings that owning an EV brings. Specifically this model, for us in US and other parts of the world?
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Yanquetino 11:40AM (6/26/2009)
Richard:
You're talking about a wide range of variables here. Tell you what: try downloading and using this "quick-and-dirty" spreadsheet to compare an EV with an ICE:
http://tinyurl.com/nn2vym
It is already configured with numbers for an i-MiEV and a Corolla, but you could substitute those figures with others for, let's say, a Roadster vs. a Ferrari, the electricity rates in your area, your current price for gasoline, the number of miles you drive per year, etc., etc.
Richard in FLA 12:07PM (6/26/2009)
Thanks. I was hoping to see the taxes saved and congestion charges, and cost of gasoline.
Yanquetino 12:13PM (6/26/2009)
Richard:
Whew...! Like I said, there is a wide range of variables there, depending upon the country, state, and even the city. Plug-In America's list of tax incentives might help you at least see the differences to date among the U.S. states:
http://action.pluginamerica.org/t/5960/content.jsp?content_KEY=5545
According to that list, there in FL an additional $2,000 tax incentive is pending. Do you have a "congestion charge" in your city? What are you paying for gasoline? Where I am at it is again starting to exceed $3.00/gallon. And our tax incentive is pitiful: a mere $750! Ugh.
Jo Saints 11:24AM (6/26/2009)
Is the ABG part of Telsa or the "Boer' just pay by the word...Come on ABG enough of a company that will not go anywhere.
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MATT 11:46AM (6/26/2009)
There are few if any greener production cars out there, and the roadster is by far the most fun to drive. And you're complaining about ABG covering Tesla too much? yeesh.
what are you some kind of volt or prius lover?
Peter 1:11PM (6/26/2009)
I'm sure when the Volt, the Fisker Karma, or the Aptera start European sales they'll get mentioned here as well. But for now Tesla is the only company selling a fully highway certified electric car (series hybrid or full EV), so they end up grabbing a lot of headlines.
Snoopy 6:50PM (6/26/2009)
Haven't heard any news about Aptera in a while. I wonder what they're up to/how the production prep is coming along.
duinneeile 11:30AM (6/26/2009)
well right now i am paying over 4 euro a gallon (1.05 a litre) for Diesel and almost 5 euro a gallon (1.20 a litre) for petrol
I pay aprox 350 euro a year in car tax, with electric I would pay zero
but the big issue for me is not the money or green issues its the people i have to pay for oil, the evil Saudis, mad mullahs in Iran, crazy russians who want to run the world, left wing clowns in south america the list goes on and on
I will pay a little more if it means the kuntz above dont see any of my cash, but in the long run i think electric cars may end up being a little cheaper
What would the price at the punp be if we had to pay for the oil wars every time we fill up
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Yanquetino 11:49AM (6/26/2009)
My question is: Are they supplying these Roadsters with cables for London's Charging Point stations?
http://www.motoring.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=1828&fPicId=116120
Hope so! They are a much better design than anything we've seen so far in the U.S.
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gerry 1:06PM (6/26/2009)
Typo: quality should be qualify
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Snoopy 6:50PM (6/26/2009)
And confirmet should probably be confirmed.