Tesla opens company store in San Diego shopping mall

Tesla opens company store in San Diego shopping mallOn Friday, electric car-maker Tesla Motors opened the all-glass doors of a company store at a trendy shopping mall in San Diego, apparently in an attempt to pitch its new luxury plug-in electric car, the Model S.

The opening of the Tesla store in San Diego is evidently part of Tesla's ongoing efforts to exhibit its back-ordered Model S hatchback sedan - complete with its aesthetic, engineering and `green' competency - at malls and shopping areas which have sizeable foot-traffic.

However, Tesla's move of opening company stores for its vehicles had led to opposition from trade associations for traditional new-car dealerships which opine that Tesla stores will threaten what can be considered as fair price competition.

In reaction to Tesla's company-stores strategy, John Symes - the director of the National Automobile Dealers Association for Southern California - said that the association is supporting the opposition of Tesla's move because manufacturer-owned stores can thwart competition.

Tesla, meanwhile, has been asserting that its strategic move of opening company stores is crucial for educating the customers about its vehicles. In a blog post earlier this week, Tesla Chairman Elon Musk said that since gasoline cars comprise a large chunk of business of existing franchise dealerships, they clearly have "a fundamental conflict of interest" between selling gasoline cars and electric cars.

Musk further said that it was clearly not possible for these dealers to "explain the advantages of going electric without simultaneously undermining their traditional business."