Model 3 Has Tesla Store Debut In Los Angeles, Gets Mobbed

Credit: Brooke Crothers

Tesla Model 3 makes store debut in Century City, Los Angeles.

On Friday, the Model 3 debuted at the Tesla Store in Century City Los Angeles. Swarming ensued.

The Model 3, as of Friday, is being shown at only two stores nationwide, the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto and Century City mall in Los Angeles.

Friday night, I stopped by the Century City store, which is located near the Apple Store and Amazon Store (aka, Amazon Books) in the mall. Both of those stores pull in a lot customers but both paled in comparison to what I witnessed at the Tesla Store Friday night. (See video at bottom.)

Brooke Crothers

Tesla store, Century City Los Angeles Friday night January 12, 2018.

There was a long line waiting to get inside the vehicle. In fact, it reminded me of the line that formed in November at the Century City Apple Store (where I waited dutifully in line for the iPhone X). Maybe not quite as long but the Model 3 certainly generated the same kind hubbub as the iPhone X.

The config on display was the $49,000 Model 3 with 310 miles of range, rear-wheel drive, and premium upgrades throughout, including Autopilot.

I noticed that people were constantly poking and prodding the vehicle, which had the Tesla people on edge. And they had to constantly monitor the vehicle to make sure nobody broke anything. One of the Tesla guys commented to me, "Tragedy of the Commons."

I've also begun to see Model 3s for the first time (for me, at least) in the wild in northwest Los Angeles, a hotbed for EVs. On Wednesday night, I saw a Model 3 getting charged at a Whole Foods in Sherman Oaks for the first time. I expect (and hope) to see this occur more often in the coming months.

And note that no test drives are being offered at this time at the Century City store -- or anywhere for that matter.