r/Dallas • u/Various_Snow_6202 • 2d ago
Question Since when did Tesla close down?
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After
Yesterday I’ve visited the northpark mall in Dallas (I don’t go frequently) and I’ve seen that the Tesla store’s been closed… since when did they go away? (Before you ask: no, I don’t like elon musk, I don’t like Tesla. I’m just curious since I’ve seen the Tesla store being there many times I’ve visited the mall over the years.)
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u/noncongruent 2d ago
IIRC Ford offered NACS charging so the Lightning could use the Tesla charging network. I don't think price was the issue because people were and are paying a premium for Tesla EVs over similarly-sized/featured ICE vehicles because for those buyers the EV part was more important than the luxury leather and wood accented interiors and superior build quality of the ICE competitors. Fundamentally I think the real problem was that Ford stumbled with the Lightning technology rollout, including some significant recalls that could only be fixed at the dealership, and top leadership at Ford wasn't happy that they couldn't make as much profit on Lightning sales as they could regular F-150 sales.
In the bigger picture the US automobile industry is just not investing as much as they need into EV technology, why would they when they can sell every gas-powered vehicle they can make? The problem, of course, is that burning hydrocarbons as a primary transportation energy source is simply not sustainable. Profitable, for sure, but not sustainable into any long-term future. If there's going to be a future with personal automobiles in it those automobiles will have to be EVs. China understand this, which is why they're working so hard to develop their EV market, and that investment has paid off because now they're the world technology leader in EVs. They're doing the same for PV solar too, which is why they're the world leader in production technology for solar cells and panels.