Published June 25, 2012
By Jeff Cobb
As it had promised, on Friday Tesla Motors delivered its first Model S all-electric cars at its Fremont, Calif. factory at a ceremony shown in the company's edited video below.
“There are a lot of people who said this day would never come,” said George Blankenship, VP, worldwide sales and ownership experience. “But at Tesla, we don’t even think about them. We don’t think about them. What we think about is the people who ensured that we are here today.”
Among those who ensured Tesla’s continuance are the over 2,300 Roadster owners whose learning experiences and essential real world R&D taught lessons fully incorporated into the new sedan, Blankenship said.
To date, Tesla has 22 company owned retail locations and galleries worldwide. The hands-on exhibits aim to reinvent how people shop for cars much in the way that the cars themselves are trying to reinvent how motor vehicles are propelled.
Tesla will open additional stores and galleries this summer at 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, California, Fashion Square in Scottsdale, Arizona, Washington Square in Portland, Oregon, and on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach, Florida. Plans for the remainder of this year are to open about twelve New Design retail stores and galleries worldwide, with most being in North America.
With its factory operational, and a waiting list of over 10,000 reservation holders, Tesla says it is “in a good position to build 5,000 cars by the end of 2012, followed by 20,000 cars in 2013.”
“In 2009, we set out to build the most innovative car of the 21st century, and since then have dedicated ourselves to developing and testing Model S to ensure that under any situation, Model S never disappoints,” said Elon Musk, Tesla Motors co-founder, CEO and chief product architect. “Today we achieved our goal with an exceptional car that we believe sets a new standard for efficiency, safety, style, technology, operating cost and performance.”
