MONTVILLE, Conn. — If you want to purchase a Tesla, you no longer have to go to Boston or New York now that the electric vehicle maker has opened a showroom in the Shops at Mohegan Sun.
The store skirts the law that bans vehicle manufacturers from selling cars directly to customers since it will operate on Sovereign Tribal land.
The sales and delivery center will be located across from Todd English’s Tuscany. Test drives for popular Tesla models will also be possible around the resort.
The Texas-based manufacturer recently introduced the long-awaited Cyber Truck, a stainless steel-bodied pickup truck. Other models include the popular Model 3 and Y, and the larger Model S and Model X.
Previously, customers had to travel out of state to purchase and take delivery of Teslas, the closest showrooms being in Boston and New York City.
Electric vehicle manufacturers have lobbied for years for legislation that would allow direct-to-consumer sales but have been unsuccessful. Current law requires independent business owners to "re-sell" vehicles to customers after buying them from manufacturers.
Electric vehicle sales are expected to hit a record 9% of all passenger vehicles in the U.S. this year, according to Atlas Public Policy. That will be up from 7.3% of new car sales in 2022. This will be the first year U.S. EV sales surpass 1 million, and they will probably reach between 1.3 million and 1.4 million cars. Electric vehicle prices in the U.S. have been falling. Although the numbers show significant progress for electrification in the US, the nation is lagging behind countries like China, Germany, and Norway.
Tesla is recalling nearly all of the vehicles it sold in the U.S., more than 2 million across its model lineup, to fix a defective system that’s supposed to ensure drivers are paying attention when they use Autopilot.
Documents posted last week by U.S. safety regulators say the company will send out a software update to fix the problems.
The recall comes after a two-year investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into a series of crashes that happened while the Autopilot partially automated driving system was in use. Some were deadly.
The agency says its investigation found Autopilot's method of ensuring that drivers are paying attention can be inadequate and can lead to foreseeable misuse of the system.
The recall covers models S, 3, X, and Y, produced between Oct. 5, 2012, and Dec. 7 of this year.
The software update includes additional controls and alerts “to further encourage the driver to adhere to their continuous driving responsibility,” the documents said.
Doug Stewart is a Senior Digital Content Producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dstewart@fox61.com.
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