Tesla closes Karangahape Road showroom, readies new digs 20km out at Westgate

Tesla closed its Central Auckland showroom and service centre this week. Photo / Herald staff

Central Auckland Tesla owners after a service now face a longer drive.

Elon Musk’s firm closed its showroom and service centre in Karangahape Rd on Monday - although the six superchargers in the parking space beneath it remain accessible to Tesla owners.

Emptying out: The EV maker's Karangahape Rd outlet, AKA "Tesla Ponsonby". Photo / Herald staff

It opened five years ago as Tesla’s first permanent showroom and service centre in NZ, and also hosted superchargers.

Last year, Tesla opened a new much larger service centre and showroom in Māngere near Auckland Airport, around 16km away.

And a new Tesla outlet is under construction at Westgate in northwest Auckland, according to developer NZ Retail Property Group, which has released an artist’s render.

Plans for the new Tesla Westgate, as shown on NZRPG's site. The store will be near the existing Mitre 10 Mega. Photo / NZRPG

Westgate is roughly 20km from the just-closed Karangahape Rd facility, along a stretch of motorway where - so to speak - drivers can struggle to get out of second gear during rush hour.

The new Tesla facility at Westgate will be neighbours with an internal combustion economy fixture: Costco’s 27-pump service station.

Tesla had no comment on the Karangahape Rd closure and declined to answer questions regarding the pending Westgate outlet.

A message sent to local Tesla owners said: “Visit us at Tesla Auckland South - our first location to include a showroom, service centre, delivery hub, parts warehouse and body repair all under the one roof ... Please note that Tesla Ponsonby is closing on May 13.”

The firm has recently undergone a round of belt-tightening, with Musk announcing a plan to lay off 10 per cent of Tesla’s workforce following falling sales in the first quarter and a weak outlook for the rest of the year. The CEO subsequently fired Tesla’s entire supercharger team of around 500 people.

Locally, sales of EVs have stalled in the first quarter following the end of the Clean Car Discount and the introduction of $76/1000km road-user charges for electric vehicle owners.

Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald’s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.