Tesla’s stores in Los Angeles and Palo Alto, CA debuted something special today, with the two showrooms becoming the first in the United States to feature the Model 3 on display. It marks the first time the Silicon Valley-based electric carmaker is bringing the Model 3 to its retail store for public consumption, a sign that Tesla is prepared for the expected increase to its already sizable preorder count for the electric compact.
Visitors to Tesla’s store in Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto and Century City Mall in Los Angeles, core markets for first Model 3 deliveries, will have the opportunity to view, sit in, and experience the much-talked-about mass-market electric car.
The debut immediately struck a chord among attendees of a private event held at Tesla’s retail store on Thursday evening, with many enthusiasts posting photos of the Model 3 on social media.
Tesla Model 3 debuts at Century City store in Los Angeles [Credit: andy_wl_jackson via Instagram]
In a lot of ways, the debut of the Model 3 at both the Stanford and Century showrooms is an incredibly favorable sign for Tesla and its ever-growing consumer base. For the longest time, the company had been anti-selling the Model 3, comparing it less favorably to the Model S, and emphasizing the long wait associated with the more affordable vehicle.
Even Tesla CEO Elon Musk pushed the company’s anti-selling efforts towards the mass market car, explicitly reminding customers that the Model 3, despite being the newest vehicle in Tesla’s lineup, does not feature superior features compared to its larger, more expensive siblings. Musk even noted that he would continue driving his Model S long after the Model 3 is released.
Tesla Model 3 at the Palo Alto, CA store [Credit: Alex Guberman at E for Electric]
Despite the California-based electric car maker’s best efforts at anti-selling the Model 3, however, the compact electric sedan has managed to maintain unprecedented numbers of its pre-orders. By actively featuring the Model 3 in two of its showrooms in California, Tesla seems to be making a very bold statement — one that suggests that the company is now confident it can scale the compact electric car’s production to address the overwhelming demand for the vehicle.
Tesla is currently ramping up the production of the Model 3. In the electric car maker’s Q4 2017 delivery report, Tesla stated that it is expecting to hit its target pace of manufacturing 5,000 Model 3 units per week by the end of Q2 2018.
