Tesla prepares to open first showroom in the Rockford region

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — The first Tesla showroom in the Rockford region is coming to a storefront off Perryville Road on the city’s east side.

Detroit-based Sachse Construction (pronounced like taxi with an ‘s’) is remodeling space at 1998 McFarland Road, suite 104, for the electric car sales showroom, according to building permit information posted at the site. It’s located in the nearly 2,800-square-foot corner suite of a strip center that also includes Tropical Smoothie Cafe and Gloss Nail Bar.

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Tesla’s trademark logo was installed on the storefront this week, and the interior of the showroom is also beginning to take shape. Its hours will be 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and closed on Sunday, according to a sign on the door.

It’s not clear when the Tesla store will open. Messages for the company, as well as property owner First Midwest Group and Sachse Construction were not returned.

Tesla has had a supercharger station outside the CherryVale Mall in Cherry Valley for a little more than a decade, but this is the clean energy automaker’s first store in the region. It has nine other stores in Illinois, mostly in Chicagoland, according to its website.

Tesla does not have traditional dealerships and instead sells to customers directly. The company maintains that’s the best way to educate customers, arrange test drives and help them order a car.

“The Tesla Motors representatives at our stores will not be salespeople and will not operate on commission,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote in 2007 explaining the Tesla Store concept. “Anyone visiting need not worry about being accosted. Representatives will be there to answer questions, assist with a purchase only if asked, and to see if there is any way they can be helpful.

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Tesla says it deliberately places its stores in high-traffic areas such as shopping centers, malls and retails venues so that people can interact with product specialists and decide whether to order a vehicle. There is no inventory on site to be sold.

“Our stores are designed to be informative and interactive in a delightful way and are simply unlike the traditional dealership with several hundred cars in inventory that a commissioned salesperson is tasked with selling,” Musk wrote in a 2012 description of the concept. “Our technology is different, our car is different, and, as a result, our stores are intentionally different.”

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas