Downtown D.C.’s luxurious CityCenterDC outdoor shopping mall has a new tenant: Tesla. The American automaker and energy storage company opened a new 3,000-sq. ft.showroom today on the highly visible corner of H and 9th Streets, N.W.
Tesla currently produces the Model S electric sedan and the Model X electric SUV. Both feature the company’s self-driving capability and are 100% operated by electricity. The showroom has examples of both vehicles on display and a small fleet available for test drives.
Customers can also learn about and pre-order the upcoming Model 3 electric sedan. It will be priced at only $35,000 before incentives (the Model S starts at $68,000 and the Model X starts at $74,000). However, the Model 3 will have only 215 miles of range per charge as compared to the Model S’s 219 to 351 miles and and the Model X’s 295 miles.
Tesla’s vehicles are only available directly from the company via one of its showrooms or its website. It does not use the traditional third-party franchised dealership model. By selling cars directly to customers, Tesla believes it is better able to educate potential owners about the many benefits of ownership.
In addition to the growing offering of vehicles, the showroom will also feature Telsa’s Powerwall 2 energy storage unit. It allows consumers to manage their own energy consumption. It stores solar energy during the day to be used at night when the sun isn’t shining and also provides emergency backup for homes and businesses when grid power is not available or allows customers to go completely off-grid.
With double the energy of Tesla’s first generation battery, the Powerwall 2 can power an average two-bedroom home for a full day
The CityCenterDC location replaces Tesla’s showroom on K Street, which opened in 2011. Telsa’s other nearby showrooms in the Tysons Corner area and inside Bethesda’s Montgomery Mall will remain open.
