Tesla is expanding its new sales strategy of using virtual sales advisers with remote test drive locations to Europe.

In the summer of 2021, Electrek exclusively reported that Tesla was implementing a new sales strategy. At the time, we reported that the main changes were that the automaker was moving away from high-rent locations in malls and shopping districts in favor of delivery centers and remote test drives.

The strategy is again focused on online sales, but Tesla has recognized that physical presence is still necessary to enable test drives.

When someone used to place an order for a Tesla vehicle online in North America, the customer was assigned a “Tesla Advisor” at their local store to help manage the process leading up to the delivery.

Instead, Tesla started to assign orders to “virtual sales advisors” not assigned to any specific stores, and customers could go to cheap remote test drive locations with Tesla vehicles in parking lots.

The company has been gradually implementing this new strategy in North America. Tesla has now expanded its strategy to Europe with its first remote test drive hub location in Sweden:

A new survey of American truck drivers shows that many of them are getting ready to go electric, but the majority of them don’t even believe Tesla Cybertruck is a “real truck.”

American Trucks is behind the survey and described its intention with it:

While electric vehicles have been in high demand in recent years, electric pickup trucks have taken longer to hit the market. Now that we’re starting to see more models available, which ones are people most excited about, and what do current truck drivers think of them? We surveyed hundreds of Americans, both truck owners/drivers and non-truck owners/drivers, to find out.

Historically, truck drivers have been more resistant to the electric transition, and there’s a good reason for that.

While range is becoming a nonissue for most passenger vehicle use, if you are using your truck to actually do work, like pulling a heavy trailer, it will indeed limit your range greatly.

The survey shows that 35% of truck drivers are considering going electric this decade and most of them over the next five years:

Here are the most popular electric pickup trucks that current truck drivers are most excited about:

1. Ford F-150 Lightning
2. Tesla Cybertruck
3. Chevrolet Silverado EV
4. Toyota Tacoma EV
5. Rivian R1T
6. GMC Sierra EV
7. Canoo Pickup Truck

Interestingly, the survey also included nontruck drivers. If you isolate them, the Tesla Cybertruck becomes the most anticipated electric pickup truck:

1. Tesla Cybertruck
2. Ford F-150 Lightning
3. Toyota Tacoma EV

The difference seems to be that truck drivers don’t see Cybertruck as a “real truck.”

Of the truck drivers surveyed, 56% answered no to the question: “Do you think Tesla’s Cybertruck is a ‘real’ truck?”

Tesla is saying that the Cybertruck is going into production this summer, but most truck drivers surveyed believe it is still at least two years away.

Truck drivers are looking for longer ranges, more charging stations, and faster charge times to help convince them to go electric.

Posted on
March 20, 2023
by
Peter McGuthrie

One major benefit of owning a Tesla is the ability to avoid garage lockouts with the use of HomeLink. Whether used as a backup to your garage door code, or as your primary way of parking in the garage, HomeLink is an important feature for Tesla owners, and it makes it easy to get into the house when you need to.

Above: (Image: Casey Murphy / EVANNEX).

Conveniently, you can also use HomeLink to someone else into the garage when you aren’t home, making it versatile for friends and loved ones, deliveries and more.

Read this week’s Tesla Pro Tip from Erwin Meyer at EVSpeedy.com below to learn how to use HomeLink, whether for yourself or someone else.

Tesla Garage HomeLink Tip

If you have a Tesla, Garage, and Homelink, this tip might save you from getting locked out of your house. If your front door has a code to be unlocked and it is accidentally locked or jammed, you can open and click on the Tesla App > Controls > Homelink. This way your garage door will open, and you’ll be able to enter your home from the garage’s side. You can also let a neighbor or delivery guy put packages in your garage when you’re not at home so that they’re not left on your doorstep.

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You can find this and even more Tesla Pro Tips at EVSpeedy.com.

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Posted on
March 20, 2023
by
Iqtidar Ali

Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the company’s newest Gigafactory location at the company’s recent Investor Day event, set to build the company’s next-generation vehicle. The North American factory will be built in the northeastern state of Nuevo León, as announced after reports pointed to the region for months.

Above: A Tesla Supercharger (Image: Casey Murphy / EVANNEX).

“Yeah, we’ll have a, you know obviously have a grand opening and groundbreaking and what not but we’re excited to announce that the next Tesla Gigafactory will be in Mexico near Monterrey,” Musk said before the Investor Day Q&A session. “So, super excited about it.”

The news came after Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and other officials had already reported on Tesla’s plans to build the factory prior to Investor Day. According to one Mexican government official, Tesla plans to invest $5 billion for the development of the ultra-large new factory outside of Monterrey, Reuters reports.

Gigafactory Mexico Monterrey! Sounds cool! @elonmusk 🇲🇽 😎 pic.twitter.com/tWXJItAGzx

— Endrina Pavlić (@EPavlic) March 2, 2023

Elon Musk’s announcement was accompanied by a concept image of Gigafactory Mexico. The theme of Giga Mexico appears to follow the same design pattern as other Tesla Gigafactories.