Tesla has gone back on its recent plan to close stores and move to an online sales model only in a bid to cut costs.
This was coupled with the announcement that Tesla will need to raise vehicle prices by about 3% on average worldwide.
A company release stated: “Over the past two weeks we have been closely evaluating every single Tesla retail location, and we have decided to keep significantly more stores open than previously announced as we continue to evaluate them over the course of several months.
“When we recently closed 10% of sales locations, we selected stores that didn’t invite the natural foot traffic our stores have always been designed for. These are stores that we would have closed anyway, even if in-store sales made up our entire sales model.
“A few stores in high visibility locations that were closed due to low throughput will be reopened, but with a smaller Tesla crew.
“In addition, there are another 20% of locations that are under review, and depending on their effectiveness over the next few months, some will be closed and some will remain open.”
Tesla said that prospective customers will have a week to place their order before prices rise, meaning current prices are valid until March 18th. There will be no price increase to the $35,000 Model 3.
The price increases will only apply to the more expensive variants of Model 3, as well as Model S and X.
All sales will still be done online. Customers going in to stores will be shown how to order a Tesla on their phone in a few minutes.
The company looks to circumvent test drives with its 1000 miles, or 7 days, return policy. However, cars will still be available for test drives at stores on request. Stores will also carry a small number of cars in inventory for customers who want to drive away that day.