Virginia Beach service center closed. Norfolk SC opens.

[Master Chief]

Does anyone think it odd that Tesla would close a service center in Virginia Beach, VA only three years after opening it and move to a new location in Norfolk which is pretty out of the way for many Tesla owners? I never received any notice and found out about it only by the new address and the lack of the old one when I filed for a service request on the app.

Randy

 

[Master Chief]

I think I can answer my own question. Upon further Googling, I found that Tesla has opened a new showroom in Norfolk. It has been working on this for well over a year and has had to fight the state DMV along with several other state agencies since it is against current law for a manufacturer to operate their own retail location in the state of Virginia. Obviously, there are a few exceptions. Tesla already has a Virginia showroom in Northern Virginia and in Richmond (where I picked up my 2020 MX). As the head of the state dealer's association stated in a new article, they have stopped fighting Tesla because they believe that their own electric vehicles will kick Tesla's butt.

We shall see...

It appears that Tesla closed the Virginia Beach service center and consolidated it with the newly opened retail site.

As an aside... this exact site was where I had my first job over fifty years ago when it was a Ford dealership. I worked in the section that reconditioned used cars before they were put out for resale. Talk about the circle of life...

Here is a photo from maybe 5 years ago when it was Priority Ford. Strangely, I couldn't find any old photos on the interwebs. Followed by the ribbon cutting of the new Tesla dealership.

 

[RoBoRaT]

I think I can answer my own question. Upon further Googling, I found that Tesla has opened a new showroom in Norfolk. It has been working on this for well over a year and has had to fight the state DMV along with several other state agencies since it is against current law for a manufacturer to operate their own retail location in the state of Virginia. Obviously, there are a few exceptions. Tesla already has a Virginia showroom in Northern Virginia and in Richmond (where I picked up my 2020 MX). As the head of the state dealer's association stated in a new article, they have stopped fighting Tesla because they believe that their own electric vehicles will kick Tesla's butt.

We shall see...

It appears that Tesla closed the Virginia Beach service center and consolidated it with the newly opened retail site.

As an aside... this exact site was where I had my first job over fifty years ago when it was a Ford dealership. I worked in the section that reconditioned used cars before they were put out for resale. Talk about the circle of life...

Here is a photo from maybe 5 years ago when it was Priority Ford. Strangely, I couldn't find any old photos on the interwebs. Followed by the ribbon cutting of the new Tesla dealership.

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Hooyah MC!