New Tesla Store in Naples

[Jace_91]

Just came to post that they look close to opening and saw the comments of a confirmed date. The construction barriers are down and sign is on the building all glass front look. Store looks great. I thought it was going to look out of place due to its strange location in relation to the rest of the mall but it fits in well.

Anything exciting happen at the grand openings? Free cars?

 

[Larry Chanin]

Just came to post that they look close to opening and saw the comments of a confirmed date. The construction barriers are down and sign is on the building all glass front look. Store looks great. I thought it was going to look out of place due to its strange location in relation to the rest of the mall but it fits in well.

Anything exciting happen at the grand openings? Free cars?

Hi Jace,

Back in the "Good Ole Days" it was a big deal. Tesla would actually send high-ranking executives with a contingent of Palo Alto staff to store grand openings. I remember meeting George Blankenship, VP Global Sales and Service, at the opening of the Lincoln Road store. (It's since been closed.) Nowadays, it's virtually impossible to get executives to visit us. It's still fun to attend, but you'll be lucky to meet staff with more than a year of service.

Free cars? No, but would you settle for some glasses of wine and finger food? ;-)

By the way, congratulations on your recent order of a Model S. If you are interested in joining a Florida Tesla club, please click on the link to Florida Tesla Enthusiasts in my signature.

Larry

 

[X Fan]

"but you'll be lucky to meet staff with more than a year of service."

Larry--

Stopped by today and one of their young employees actually asked me when the 3 was coming out.....

btw: the charger area in front of store is now cordoned off & they advised will only be available for demo cars (but I'm sure if there was a slot open and you were in trouble they would assist)

 

[Larry Chanin]

Hi Jace,

Back in the "Good Ole Days" it was a big deal. Tesla would actually send high-ranking executives with a contingent of Palo Alto staff to store grand openings. I remember meeting George Blankenship, VP Global Sales and Service, at the opening of the Lincoln Road store. (It's since been closed.) Nowadays, it's virtually impossible to get executives to visit us. It's still fun to attend, but you'll be lucky to meet staff with more than a year of service.

Free cars? No, but would you settle for some glasses of wine and finger food? ;-)

By the way, congratulations on your recent order of a Model S. If you are interested in joining a Florida Tesla club, please click on the link to Florida Tesla Enthusiasts in my signature.

Larry

"but you'll be lucky to meet staff with more than a year of service."

Larry--

Stopped by today and one of their young employees actually asked me when the 3 was coming out.....

btw: the charger area in front of store is now cordoned off & they advised will only be available for demo cars (but I'm sure if there was a slot open and you were in trouble they would assist)

Hi Charles,

Yes, it's true that some of our members have better information than the entry level Tesla employees, and those more senior Tesla employees that have forward-looking information know that they are not permitted to release it prior to an official announcement.

For your information, soon we will begin working on a Naples event. We will be looking into the feasibility of coordinating with the store manager. I look forward to meeting you there. More details will follow.

Regarding my comment about the difficulty in getting executives to visit us, this afternoon I had a conversation with a Tesla executive and he agreed to serve as a keynote speaker at a large event that we are planning for March or April featuring Tesla speakers. We are in the early stages of planning, but in addition to club members, their family and friends, we also plan on inviting the public. As more details become available I will be sending out updates to our club membership.

Larry

 

[GreenT]

Who would buy a Model Anything in Naples when you have to drive 150 miles to get it serviced?

 

[Larry Chanin]

Who would buy a Model Anything in Naples when you have to drive 150 miles to get it serviced?

Excellent point.

Tesla of course should know that Naples is a good market that needs a more conveniently located Service Center to be truly successful.

In the past there was a job posting on the careers page listing a Service Manager for Naples suggesting at the time they were scouting out a Service Center location in Naples. Hopefully, after opening a Naples Store and soon to be operational Supercharger, they will return to actively pursuing a sorely needed Service Center.

Service Center in Naples?

Larry

 

[X Fan]

Excellent point.

Tesla of course should know that Naples is a good market that needs a more conveniently located Service Center to be truly successful.

In the past there was a job posting on the careers page listing a Service Manager for Naples suggesting at the time they were scouting out a Service Center location in Naples. Hopefully, after opening a Naples Store and soon to be operational Supercharger, they will return to actively pursuing a sorely needed Service Center.

Service Center in Naples?

Larry

For my annual service call, they flat bedded my X to Dania Beach. In addition, there is a superb ranger assigned to Naples.

And....Teslas don't break....

 

[GreenT]

The ranger is a nice guy but can only handle very limited repairs.
Wait til you've exceeded your 50,000 miles ...
I'm told there are more then 750 cars in the "Naples area". And with the store open, they expect 1 car a day more.
Yet no SC.
Unacceptable void.

 

[FloridaGary]

The ranger is a nice guy but can only handle very limited repairs.
Wait til you've exceeded your 50,000 miles ...
I'm told there are more then 750 cars in the "Naples area". And with the store open, they expect 1 car a day more.
Yet no SC.
Unacceptable void.

750 Tesla's in Naples? I would not normally be surprised, but never saw one Tesla during the week I was there. That inlcudes multiple trips to 5th ave which seems the best location for any Tesla siting.

 

[Larry Chanin]

The ranger is a nice guy but can only handle very limited repairs.
Wait til you've exceeded your 50,000 miles ...
I'm told there are more then 750 cars in the "Naples area". And with the store open, they expect 1 car a day more.
Yet no SC.
Unacceptable void.

I agree, a Ranger is limited in what he/she can do, and it is still over 100 miles from Naples to Dania Beach and over 150 miles to the Brandon Service Center.

It would be interesting to know who your source is and what he/she considers the "Naples area".

According to FDOT records as of August 2016 there were 196 Teslas in Collier County where Naples is located. 173 Model Ss, 17 Model Xs and 6 Roadsters.
Lee County, where Fort Myers is located, has another 158 Teslas, but those totals are nowhere near 750.

Nevertheless, these areas do have quite a few Teslas. Our club has over 40 members that live in the Naples area and about 30 members in the Fort Myers area.

By the way, if you are interested in joining our Florida Tesla club, please click on the link to Florida Tesla Enthusiasts in my signature.

Larry

 

[GreenT]

My source, (who could not state his name as he was not authorized to talk about such matters) , suggested the Naples area includes everywhere north of the I-75 bend, north all the way to I thought Fort Myers, but perhaps a little further.
I doubt they included Sarasota and North as "Tampa" would be within walking distance. With a VERY good pair of running shoes.
I was surprised.

 

[Larry Chanin]

My source, (who could not state his name as he was not authorized to talk about such matters) , suggested the Naples area includes everywhere north of the I-75 bend, north all the way to I thought Fort Myers, but perhaps a little further.
I doubt they included Sarasota and North as "Tampa" would be within walking distance. With a VERY good pair of running shoes.
I was surprised.

Thanks.

With all respect, I would discount your source's 750 count.
Like you I doubt they included Sarasota. It would make no sense to include Sarasota in the Naples "Service Territory" since it is just 53 miles from Sarasota to the Tampa Service Center and 115 miles from Sarasota to Naples. Including Tampa of course would make even less sense with a Service Center already located there.

I may have an update on the FDOT statistics in a month or so, but in the meantime a number of around 350 would be more in line with reality for the Naples Service Territory.

Nevertheless, I still agree with you that now with an active Naples store, there is an even greater need to open a Naples Service Center sooner rather than later. The nearest service center, Dania Beach is more that 100 miles away.

Larry