Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) is ramping up its local footprint.
The Texas-based electric vehicle maker plans to expand its retail, repair and consumer services in the region with several deals and proposals in the works, reports indicate.
In the latest of Tesla’s local moves, the company is gearing up to establish a second location in Irvine for repairs near Red Hill Avenue and Main Street, according to city filings.
North Palisade Partners, a real estate development firm based in Los Angeles, bought a 35,500-square-foot facility last June for $11 million and has submitted a proposal to redevelop the site into a Tesla collision repair center.
Located in the Irvine Business Complex, the building is on a 2.4-acre parcel at 18011 Mitchell South a couple miles down the street from John Wayne Airport. The single-story facility features 14-foot ceilings and has space for research and development.
It previously housed Integrated Healthcare Solutions.
Current Tesla outposts are in Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Mission Viejo, Buena Park and Brea in addition to Irvine, where the company counts an existing sales facility at a 58,000-square-foot building fronting Jamboree Road, at the intersection of Barranca Parkway.
Tesla is on its way to having 11 locations in the county, including retail stores and service centers.
Local Upgrades
Tesla is preparing to open a new showroom at an Aliso Viejo shopping center early next year.
CoStar Group indicates the company will begin moving into the showroom at The Commons shopping center in January.
It will span 53,825 square feet at the center owned by Irvine-based ValueRock Realty Partners. Other recent tenants for the mall include 99 Ranch Market and Daiso.
Tesla occupies a 32,657-square-foot building elsewhere in the city for its sales, service and deliver operations—it signed a 10-year lease for the facility in 2022.
That building at 41 Columbia, next to the 73 Toll Road, sold last month for $13.1 million, nearly double a prior sale of the property in 2021.
Scaleup 7 LLC, a Corona-based investment firm headed by Peter Spenuzza, bought the building from La Mirada-based JRC Real Estate Investment Corp.
Tesla worked on tenant improvements for over a year before moving into the facility, with the company and the building’s owner investing roughly $2.7 million in specific upgrades, records note.
OC’s Best
Tesla is the top-performing car brand in OC, based on more than 17,000 registrations year-to-date in June—a 53% rise from the period prior. Its Model Y and Model 3 are the best-selling vehicles in the county, according to research by the Orange County Automobile Dealers Association (OCADA).
Trailing behind Tesla is EV competitor Rivian Automotive Inc. (Nasdaq: RIVN), which is still breaking into the local market recording 530 registrations in OC, an 81% increase from the prior year.
Tesla produced and sold 1.37 million cars last year, up about 47% year-over-year.
