Mississippi's first Tesla dealership is coming to Brandon. Here's how it happened
Mississippi's first Tesla dealership is expected to open this year in Brandon.
Local developer RCI, LLC and Trihelm Properties have worked together to bring the car manufacturer, Tesla to Brandon.
Tesla, owned by Elon Musk, manufactures and sells electric vehicles. Tesla was founded in 2003 by a group of engineers who said they wanted to prove that people didn't need to compromise to drive electric. It has become one of the leaders in performace EVs.
Trihelm Properties co-owner Adam Savage said that when he and some others were brainstorming businesses that might move into the property, Tesla came up as pie-in-the-sky jesting.
“We were kind of pot-shotting stuff, wondering who is the best tenant you could get in here. When Telsa was mentioned, there was a chuckle," Savage said. "I found someone online and sent them an email. The next thing I know they are flying out here to look at the property.”
RCI Investments purchased this property out of investment and Trihelm partnered with them to get the tenant in place.
"We wanted to hold out for a quality tenant that was betting on Brandon," Savage said. "I think that 39042 area has a ton of upside and it is starting to come to fruition."
Renovations are underway at 255 Mar Lyn Drive in Brandon to prepare the 25,000 square foot building and associated property for Tesla to begin operations later this year.
Savage said that completion of the project should be in the fall of 2022.
"Working with Tesla has been very interesting," Savage said. "They have a lot of super intelligent people, and the way that they operate is totally different than the typical big company. It’s been fun."
The only other Tesla property of any kind in Mississippi is a service center in Pearl.
The property on Mar Lyn Drive was previously the home of Courthouse Fitness in Brandon.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Local developer RCI and Trihelm Properties will bring Tesla to state
