Yesterday, I headed out to the Grand opening of Tesla Motors’ newest store at the Fashion Island mall in Newport Beach.  I was going to go on Sunday, but with all the rain, I decided against it.  After almost a 2 hour drive, I finally arrived.  I walked in through the front of the Macy’s department store, and out through the back, and there it was to the right. 

As I walked in, I had a sort of deja-vu feeling.  This felt so much like an Apple store, yet it was much more beautiful than any Apple Store I had ever been to.  The design of the store impressed me.  Then I thought, wait, I just walked into a car dealership, but it didn’t feel like one; and the more time I spent there, the more I realized that the whole car buying experience had been reinvented.  Anyone who has bought a car knows that typically as you walk in, salespeople who are like hungry hawks approach you immediately, and I can’t blame them.  After all, their livelihood depends on their sales since they are on commission.  It’s not a pleasant experience.  The experience at Tesla is the opposite.  It’s a pleasant experience.  You are surrounded by information that educates you, and its not just in some brochure.  It’s all over the walls, and in touch screen monitors that engage you and give you an interactive experience!  The staff at that store are so friendly, including David, Gregory, and the Store Manager, Kyrstin.  You can tell that they love their jobs.

Enough about the store.. let me tell you about the car.  My first impression when I saw it was WOW; pictures do not do it justice.  Being there, and seeing it, is a whole different experience.  The car I saw was one of 2 prototypes that are on tour in North America.  It had a black interior with a lacewood dash and the premium Shasta White Pearl paint which from what I understand looks gorgeous under sunlight.  I could see how, because if you approach the car, and look closely at the paint, you can see small reflective semi-metallic flecks.  When I first approached the car, I had to see the front trunkI  I walked around the car slowly in awe.  

Gregory approached me and I introduced myself.  He was friendly and gave me a fabulous tour  I found the front and the back to both be roomy.    I am average in height, and I had plenty of headroom and legroom.  It was quite a different experience to be in a car that is fully controlled via an touchpanel. I felt like I was on a giant version of my iPad 2!  Even the door panels have curves on it that are beautifully designed.  I look forward, even more now, to the day that my Model S is delivered.  If you think about what Tesla Motors is doing, its really quite different than what any other car maker does.  When’s the last time you remember seeing a car company  tour around the country with a prototype to see a car before it comes out?

As I wandered around digesting the information, the color selection, and the interactive displays, I realized that they had a Model S chassis there as well.  What a great opportunity it was to see the inner workings of the Model S.

I had a great experience, and even felt compelled to buy both a jacket for myself, and a t-shirt for my daughter.  By the way, the photograph of the jacket on teslamotors.com is not a good enough representation of the actual jacket.  Its actually much nicer.  Kyrstin was very helpful in making sure I walked out with one that fit me right. 

Thank you Tesla Motors for giving us all an opportunity to see the future.