Tesla to open Seattle store, offer test drives this weekend |
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Tesla to open Seattle store, offer test drives this weekend
Want to take a spin in a sleek, battery-powered car (with a $101,500 price tag)? You're in luck. Tesla Motors is opening its much-anticipated store in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood this weekend, offering public rides on Saturday and Sunday (and a VIP customer reception Friday night). It's the fourth U.S. store for the Silicon Valley company -- which hopes its roadsters will appeal to Seattle's high-tech, eco-friendly populace.
"Seattle remains an important regional base for Tesla because of the disproportionate number of technophilic early adopters and environmentally conscious consumers. It has long mirrored the demographic trends of Silicon Valley," Tesla spokeswoman Rachel Konrad said in an email. Konrad said the Seattle area is already home 30 Tesla customers (a group that reportedly includes billionaire Paul Allen).
Tesla announced its Seattle plans in May. Its showroom, in a brick warehouse at 435 Westlake Ave., will certainly have some proximity to Seattle's tech community, with Amazon.com's new headquarters campus nearby (first Amazonians are due to move in next year).
Tesla has been through some rocky times but got a boost this year with a $50 million investment from Germany's Daimler (maker of Mercedes) and a $465 million Department of Energy loan to finance production of the all-electric Model S sedan. Tesla also has stores in Silicon Valley, West L.A. and New York City and plans to open more in Chicago and Miami later this summer.
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