Tesla car dealership clears first hurdle to open in San Luis Obispo

Tesla hopes to open a new 31,000-square-foot car dealership on Calle Joaquin in San Luis Obispo after the project got an initial OK from the city Architectural Review Commission this week.

Next, the project will move on to the Planning Commission, which is scheduled to review it on Wednesday, May 25, at 6 p.m.

The dealership that would face Highway 101 is being proposed by San Pedro-based Rich Development on 2.8 acres of vacant land. The site, at 1381 Calle Joaquin, is near the new Town Place Suites by Marriott hotel that recently opened and is in line with two other dealerships.

The staff report on the project is available on the city’s website. The public may attend the meeting in person or watch remotely on Channel 20 and the City’s YouTube Channel: http://youtube.slo.city. Public Comment may be submitted prior to the meeting or during the meeting as outlined in the agenda.

Today, the closest Tesla dealership is in Santa Barbara.

The top-selling electric car maker would offer its line of cars to the San Luis Obispo market that has been beset by some of the highest gas prices in the state. SLO County’s ’s average price for fuel is at a Southern California high of $6.25 a gallon, according to AAA.

Tesla is now one of the world’s most valuable companies as well as the most valuable automaker, with a market capitalization above $900 billion. The company had a market-high share of 23% of the battery-electric (purely electric) market and 16% of the plug-in market (which includes plug-in hybrids) in 2020.

The company’s name honors inventor and electrical engineer Nikola Tesla. In 2004, as a result of a $6.5 million investment, Elon Musk became the largest shareholder. Musk has been CEO since 2008, the same year the first model rolled off the line.

Tesla’s revenue has been growing at a rapid pace, with $16.9 billion in sales in the first quarter of this year — an 87 percent increase year over year.

But unlike most car makers, Tesla has not spread its brick-and-mortar dealerships beyond major cities.

For example, there are none in the Central Valley. A Tesla dealership here is likely to spur local and regional sales, a boost for city sales tax revenue.

The company Veloz recently release figures for electric car sales. They were led by Tesla with an astounding lead, despite a series of price hikes.

Californians bought more than one-sixth of Teslas sold globally (a bigger piece than last quarter), and Tesla took a noteworthy 10.6% of the California light-vehicle market. So Tesla sold 78% of the 67,118 battery electric vehicles bought in California in Q1.

John Lindt is the editor of Sierra2theSea.net.

This story was originally published May 19, 2022 at 1:55 PM.