Irish motorists dreaming of owning and driving a Tesla on Irish roads have come closer to their dream, with Tesla opening its first retail store in the UK at London’s Westfield Shopping Centre. The new store features interactive displays and design studios enabling more and more people to design their own Model S and learn all about the award winning and critically acclaimed electric vehicle.
The new store was opened by Tesla Motors’ Co-Founder and CEO Elon Musk, who hosted a special opening evening for UK customers. Elon Musk had recently attended the Web Summit in Dublin and had advised Enda Kenny on adopting incentives for tech start-ups in Ireland. He arrived in Tesla’s widely acclaimed four door saloon, the Model S, grabbing the attention of the invited audience and completely dismissing any idea that electric cars are confined to small city run-arounds.
At the opening press conferance Elon Musk said “Tesla is taking the UK market very seriously, and there are more stores and service centres to come. We’re also going to establish a Supercharger network so Model S customers will be able to drive long distances anywhere in the UK using our network for free, forever. The first Supercharger will be energised next quarter and we’ll aspire to have the entire country covered by the end of next year. Most importantly, we are hard at work introducing the right Hand Drive Model S, and we aim to deliver the first one by the end of March 2014.” While no details were given on the opening of a store in Ireland, it is widely rumoured that one will open on the this island in the near future.
Model S and Pricing Announcement for the UK
Model S is the world’s first premium saloon to be built from the ground up as an electric vehicle, meticulously engineered to elevate the public’s expectations of what a premium saloon can be. The five-door saloon competes with the top cars in its class in spaciousness, handling and style, yet produces zero emissions. Because there is no internal combustion engine or transmission tunnel, the interior of the car allows for additional luggage space in the front of the vehicle and one of the most spacious cabins in its class.
The heart of Model S is its efficiently-packaged electric powertrain that delivers a superior driving experience while setting a new NEDC record for electric vehicle range of 310 Miles. Model S comes with two battery options – 60 kWh and 85 kWh. The battery’s floor-mounted position gives Model S an incredible low centre of gravity and ideal weight distribution for exhilarating performance and superior handling. Model S has many similar features, including 
immediate responsiveness, instant torque and smooth acceleration that made the Tesla Roadster famous.
Following the launch of the new London Store, Tesla has now announced that the official on-the-road price for Model S in the UK will start from £49,900*.
Aside from the competitive starting price of Model S within the luxury saloon segment, there are numerous financial benefits applied to Model S as an electric vehicle that should be considered that affect the “total cost of ownership”, making Model S even more compelling. EV owners can also look to save thousands of euros in fuel cost over the life of their car with there being no more expensive trips to the petrol station; instead Model S can simply be plugged in and charged from any electrical outlet.
There’s no doubt that the UK market will embrace the Model S, we will have to wait a little longer to see how the Irish market treats the Tesla brand when it arrives.