Even though the NaijaCarNews.com team is not so big yet, we can list out many challenges we face daily not to talk of such a big company like Tesla Motors which has over 45,000 employees. We could literally say; in such a big company like Tesla “expect anything whether sensible or not”.

On Wednesday 27^th of March 2019, Elon Musk the Tesla CEO sent a mass email to all Tesla employees in which aims at clarifying the current rumours spreading as regards the fate of the company’s physical retail stores which have been proposed to all be moved online. It is still not so clear yet whether the CEO’s message hits the target and/or helps him to repair the recently reported demoralized employees and their morale toward work.

The CEO acknowledges the fact that many of their customers prefer to speak with the company’s sales representatives 

In the Elon Musk’s email, he discusses a bit about issues of job security of sales associate especially and he added the real kicker which he expressed saying;

"sometimes, in a company with 45,000 people, things happen that make no sense."

Sometimes around last month ending, Tesla was rumoured to have made plans of closing most of its physical retail stores and shift them all online as part of an even larger announcement they made about finally releasing the Model 3 to the market at the exact long-promised $35,000 (₦12.6 million) entry price.

Tesla physical stores have been rumoured to be set for closing soon and Elon Musk’s email isn’t denying it yet

Just 2 weeks later, the company did a complete 180-degree turn to say that it would actually keep more of its physical stores open rather than closed as initially proposed and will now hike the prices on some of its high-end cars. Although the company has however not yet given precise details of which stores would get closed or stay opened.

The Elon Musk’s above-mentioned email to the Tesla employer was obtained by “Business Insider” and in this mail, he explained that most of the purchases of Tesla vehicles are made via the computer or the phone, it doesn’t matter whether the customer is present in a physical store or at home because Tesla requires no sort of “physical paperwork” to actually purchase its cars. However, the CEO acknowledges the fact that many of their customers prefer to speak with the company’s sales representatives at the point of sale or even get a test drive in their desired Tesla vehicle model. He used a line explaining this by saying;

"Stores also have a small number of Tesla vehicles available to drive away immediately for customers that want a car right then and there."

Below are quoted parts of the Elon Musk’s email which touched the aspect of the physical retail store;

• Stores with a high visitation rate and that lead to significant sales will absolutely not be closed down. It would not make any sense to do so, except in rare cases where the rent is absurdly high. Moreover, Tesla will continue to open stores throughout the world that meet the above criteria.
   
• Stores that are in a location with low visitation rates (ie empty most of their opening hours) and lead to low sales will gradually be closed down. This is analogous to seeds on barren ground. There is no reasonable way to justify keeping such stores open.
   
• Stores that are somewhere in the middle will be evaluated over time to see there is some way to allow them to cover their costs. If there is, they will remain open, otherwise not. However, these stores will be given a fair opportunity to prove their case.

Musk added that these above principles;

"also apply to the sales team. No one who is a major contributor to demand generation will be let go. That would make no sense. However, sometimes in a company with 45,000 people, things happen that make no sense."

Is that clear enough now?

There are still so many things and points that Tesla hasn’t commented on so far. Once we get more authentic information, you can rest assured we will be first to share them.

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