Let the BUILD OUT COMMENCE!
Bringing you tonight, the FIRST LOOK at the new, Milwaukee Wisconsin Tesla Service Center! This is the first physical location for Tesla Motors in Wisconsin. Why the 7 year wait since the Model S is released? Unfortunately, Wisconsin has a law on the books, which prevents a Manufacturer from selling directly to the public. The law was to be removed this year, 2019, which would have allowed Tesla to have a showroom/dealership, however, Governor Tony Evers Line Item Veto'd the provision, keeping the law in place :-(
That being said, Tesla is STILL allowed to have a SERVICE CENTER, just NO SALES. And Wisconsin is long past the tipping point to get a service center. In fact, We're getting two! One in Milwaukee, and one is currently in the works in Madison. The two biggest cities in Wisconsin.
This location was previously a BMW Motorcycle Dealership that had gone out of business.
Planned Features of this location:
1: One Supercharger INSIDE the service bay for service use. Probably for fast turn-around recharges for repaired vehicles.
2: 13 Public chargers at front of the building facing street side. Unfortunately, the worker did not specify (and I wanted to inconvenience him as little as possible) if those were to be Supercharger Stalls or HPWC stalls. THOUGH I will note, my observation based on wiring going in, would lead me to believe it will be Superchargers or a mix of Superchargers & HPWC's.
3: HPWC's will be installed in the back lot behind the gated area. This will be for charging serviced vehicles. No mention of how many planned.
4: The location should be able to be set up as a Pick Up location for new purchased, as long as paperwork/purchase was done in advance. Will need to leave this one to the lawyers to determine though.
5: Roo for approximately 5-7 Vehicles on display in the showroom, or 3-5 with waiting room area.
6: Space for ~8 car lifts in Service Bay. Or a combination of lifts, alignment machines, battery replacement equipment.
7: A different door will need to be installed between Service Bay's and Service Entrance. Currently, setup for Motorcycle sized vehicles.
8: They will be able to LEGALLY Display vehicles, as long as no sales personnel are present, EVER. Sales MIGHT be able to be done via computers set up for the guests, as long as no employee assists with the purchase (HINT, WOULDN'T STOP OTHER OWNERS WITH VOLUNTEERING AND HELPING ON A ARRANGED SALES DAY). Though this skirts a fine line in the anti-manufacturer sales law, so again, Lawyer time.....
I will be visiting at least once/week to update on the progress. Completion time is slated for the End of December 2019 to Early Jan 2020 if they work Bawls to the Wall. Otherwise, a more likely completion date is in February. The potential of a "SOFT" opening, to start accepting vehicles for service on a Limited basis while they are still working on the buildout.
