Tesla Opens London Store, European Sales to Start in June

Tesla Motors today announced it will open a new store in June, as part of a broader campaign to expand the company's coverage across Europe. Overall, the electric car manufacturer wants a total of three European centers, with the London regional sales and service center to be based in Cheval Place in Knightsbridge. Other locations include Manhattan, Miami, Seattle and Washington, DC while in Europe Tesla is considering sites in Munich and Monaco.

"We expect that Tesla sales will eventually be split evenly between the US and Europe," said Tesla CEO, Chairman and Product Architect Elon Musk, according to techradar.com. "Opening three Tesla stores in Europe this year is a critical part of our plan."

Elon Musk said he expects to start sales on the Old Continent anytime this summer, with London representing "a key customer market". Tesla Model S sedan, the electric car presented one month ago that will enter production in 2011, is also expected to bring high sales for the company. The Model S will come in a choice of three versions, providing various electric ranges: 160 (257 km), 230 (370) or 300 (482 km) miles per charge.

But in order to do well in the United Kingdom, the country has to establish a well-developed infrastructure to allow electric cars owners to recharge batteries on the go. London mayor Boris Johnson already confirmed plans to build up to 25,000 charging points across the city, the aforementioned source wrote, but explained that city authorities are only willing to pay one third of the total investment. It is believed the overall costs could go up to 60 million pounds.