Tesla Opening Stores Off the Beaten Path

Tesla TSLA, the electric vehicle designer and manufacturer, is going to try opening stores in areas where people don't normally buy cars. According to the Detroit News, Tesla has opened a store on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, California. On the same street is an Adidas store and clothes store Club Monaco. It is a very new approach to go the "mall" route and try to sell cars to casual shoppers and window browsers. Car showrooms are usually located as they are for ease of parking and location - people know where to find them. Very few consumers buy a car on a whim. They know what they want and they go looking for the best deal. We are deliberately trying to engage with people when they are not thinking about buying a car," Tesla sales chief George Blankenship said in the Detroit News, adding that it's "the best way to educate people about how electric cars work, how much they cost to operate and what Tesla has to offer, when they go car shopping." It is a brave move by Tesla, which sells its cars for between $50,000 and $100,000, and the entire auto industry may well be watching with interest. On Thursday, Tesla traded at about $31.20, down roughly 0.8 percent. Follow me @BCallwood.