Wheels In the Mall
Electric cool: Get a sneak peek inside Tesla's new car "gallery" showroom in theGalleria
Curious passers-by eyed the Tesla Roadster.Photo by Whitney Radley
Customize your own electric car at the design center.Photo by Whitney Radley
The interior of the new Model S is all touch-screen - no buttons!Photo by Whitney Radley
Consult with product specialists in a back room. They can't sell you an electriccar, but they can answer all of your questions.Photo by Whitney Radley
Tesla Motors has arrived in Houston, and is here to tell you what its electric cars can and cannot do.
The new Tesla Model S sedan can fully charge in four hours and then drive 300 miles. It can connect to Wi-Fi, accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 5.6 seconds and fit seven passengers. It cannot drive itself. And driving one home from the lot isn't an option.
A first-floor suite in the Galleria, across from Talbots, may seem like an unlikely place for a car showroom, but it's really not a showroom at all: It is a sleek, approachable and interactive Tesla "gallery" opening to the public on Saturday.
It was beautiful. It also would cost more than $110,000.
The cars are parked there, shiny and taunting, but the only wares that you can actually buy at the storefront are T-shirts, thanks to a Texas law that prevents manufacturers from selling directly to the market (under state law, motor vehicles can only be sold by the holder of franchised dealer's license — in other words, you need a car dealer).
In-store Tesla "product specialists" can discuss specifics or answer questions in the consultation lounge. From there, buyers can send those specifications to their email and order it when they get home — or at the nearby Apple store, if they can't wait that long. The custom car will be delivered to your doorstep when it's complete.
But Tesla doesn't consider this restriction a detriment. It sees it as an opportunity to reach a larger audience. The company is taking advantage of technology and viral marketing, with the idea of using this storefront to change people's minds and debunk myths about electric driving.
"We're trying to change the way people think about cars," said Camille Ricketts, communications director for Tesla.
Electric vehicle enthusiasts and curious crowds are invited to enter the space and ask questions, to look and to touch. Interactive screens line the walls, where customers can watch a video about the components of each model, hear Tesla drivers talk about their experiences, or customize a Roadster or a Model S at the design center.
George Blankenship, Tesla vice president of worldwide sales and ownership experience, helped me to design my own version of the Roadster — arctic white, silver forged aluminum wheels, soft top and black interior — and then sent it to the large screen on the back wall.
It was beautiful. It also would cost more than $110,000.
That's the starting price for the Roadster, with the Model S sedans available for around $50,000 if you take off the federal tax-credit rebate available for buying electric.
"When you start from the beginning and go through the whole process, you don't have limitations," Blankenship said. "That's what we're all about."
