Potential Tesla store in the works for Wesley Chapel

WESLEY CHAPEL — Over the years, Wesley Chapel has added upscale car dealership after upscale car dealership, from Lexus to Audi to BMW.

Now, it may be close to adding Tesla, the popular electric vehicle company run by Elon Musk.

While it is still undergoing review, a dealership featuring Teslas, electric vehicles darling to the clean driving crowd, could be on Wesley Chapel’s horizon.

The proposed Tesla dealership/store will be in the Seven Oaks MPUD (previously known as Saddlebrook Village) off Eagleston Boulevard, about 1,100 feet north of Stockton Drive. It would be bordered to the east by Eagleston Boulevard, and to the west by I-75.

The plans submitted to the county last year prior to a Dec. 4, 2023, pre-application meeting with planners indicate an “automotive dealership with sales, service and delivery” would be built on an 8-acre parcel in Seven Oaks.

According to the county’s planning department, “There is a site plan for a 50,353-square-foot automotive dealership (Tesla) with sales, service, and office currently under review.”

It added that revisions are required, however, before approving construction.

Tesla doesn’t do “dealerships” in the traditional sense. In fact, it calls what it has stores, galleries and service centers. The good news for many car buyers is that Tesla’s approach takes the haggling out of car buying. There are no heavy-handed sales pitches or aggressive sellers steering you one way or the other.

Instead, many buyers have already purchased their Teslas at set prices by computer or, in some cases, right off their smart phones, and use the brick-and-mortar stores as a place to pick up their new vehicles, or test drive a potential future purchase.

Another benefit of the Tesla stores is the opportunity to bring it in for maintenance and repairs.

Tesla already has 26 stores and galleries in Florida, including one in Tampa on North Florida Avenue that opened in 2019.

A 102,000-square-foot building that used to be home to Kane’s Furniture opened in 2023 as a Tesla property with sales and service on 34th Street North in St. Petersburg.

In April, a 55,000-square-foot Tesla building — about the same size as the one proposed for Seven Oaks — opened at the University Town Center in Sarasota.

Tesla has been the forerunner in electric vehicles, and its popularity made even finding one difficult for years.

But the competition is starting to catch up. Sales are down 13% in the first quarter of 2024, and Tesla’s market share has dropped from 62% to 51%, according to the New York Times. Meanwhile, brands like Ford, Hyundai, Mercedes and BMW are making gains. But Tesla remains the king of the EV market.

If the Tesla store comes to fruition, there are options around Wesley Chapel to charge your vehicle, but only one Tesla Super Charger (which is free), and that’s at the Wawa on S.R. 54 west of the Costco Wholesale.

John C. Cotey is the managing editor of the Tampa Beacon. He can be reached at jcotey@tampabeacon.com