Tesla will offer sales and service of its electric vehicles at South Burlington site

SOUTH BURLINGTON ― Vermont's first and so far only Tesla store is being fitted up at the former Hannaford grocery store building off Shelburne Road in South Burlington.

Signs are already up on the building and at the intersection of Shelburne and Fayette roads, catching the attention of passersby, including Tesla owners who will no longer have to travel to a surrounding state for service and repairs.

Also, prospective Tesla owners will be able to buy new electric vehicles at the store in South Burlington, something that's not possible in every state because of laws dating back to the 1940s that were put in place to protect local car dealerships. Those state laws prohibit car manufacturers from selling directly to customers.

Tesla's building permit for South Burlington allows for direct sales of electric cars and motorcycles to customers, thanks to a revision of Vermont state law made in 2021. Tesla was also able to get a zoning change from the city of South Burlington that allows for automobile sales at the former Hannaford site.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment from the Burlington Free Press.

Tesla put a store in a Connecticut casino to get around state law prohibiting direct sales to customers

In Connecticut, Tesla just opened a store at the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, owned by the Mohegan Tribe on tribal land, to get around a state law there that bans direct sales to customers by vehicle manufacturers. Mohegan sovereign land is not subject to the law.

"If you want to purchase a Tesla, you no longer have to go to Boston or New York now that the electric vehicle maker has opened a showroom in the Shops at Mohegan Sun," reported Fox 61 on Wednesday.

Todd Lockwood, who manages the Vermont Tesla Owners Group, said the group was instrumental in getting the Vermont law changed, which allows Tesla to sell EVs in South Burlington.

"(Legislators) made an incredibly narrow amendment (to the law), amusingly narrow," Lockwood said. "There’s an exception made for car manufacturers who produce only electric vehicles. That narrows it down pretty quickly. Rivian could benefit from this as well, and maybe one of the Chinese brands, and there are quite a few of them."

Vermont's Tesla owners won't have to drive to Latham, New York, to get their vehicles serviced

Lockwood estimated there are about 3,000 Tesla owners in Vermont, about 300 of whom belong to the owners' group. Lockwood, who owns a 2020 Model S and a 2021 Model 3, said he and his fellow Tesla owners are looking forward to having a Tesla store in their backyard. Lockwood lives off of Dorset Avenue in South Burlington.

"It’s going to be saving us a lot of long trips going to service centers," Lockwood said. "The official service center for Vermont is in Latham, New York, a couple miles north of Albany. It takes about two and a half hours to drive there. The funny part of this is, I enjoy driving my Model S so much I actually look forward to those drives."

Tesla also offers mobile servicing, which Lockwood has used.

"A Tesla technician shows up in van full of parts and test equipment," Lockwood said. " They come right to your house or place of work. They can’t do everything. They can’t lift the car off the ground, which limits them a bit, but if it’s software-related or replacing a part somewhere on the car, that’s a really great option. I’ve had those guys by my house many times."

Tesla store in South Burlington is likely to open sometime in January, according to Tesla owner

Lockwood said he has a contact within Tesla who told him the store in South Burlington is expected to open in mid- to late-January. The nearly 47,000-square-foot building will likely include a showroom and will be a distribution hub, according to Lockwood, meaning Vermonters who buy Teslas will no longer have to travel to northern New Jersey to pick up their cars.

Lockwood is excited about the amount of space at the South Burlington site, both inside and outside the building.

"That parking lot is going to be perfect, it could not be a better setup," Lockwood said. "A building bigger than you need. In some locations out west, Tesla has their own body shop. It’s possible they’ll do that too (in South Burlington)."

Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosio@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDambrosioVT. 

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Tesla is building a new store in South Burlington for its EVs