PORTSMOUTH – The owners of Portsmouth Green recently received the final zoning approvals needed to lease space in the mixed-use development on Route 1 for a new Tesla sales gallery.
Tesla is known for its high-end electric vehicles, priced from $38,000 and up, and was co-founded by billionaire Elon Musk, who also runs SpaceX, Neuralink and X, formerly known as Twitter.
The Portsmouth Planning Board voted unanimously at a recent meeting to approve an amended site plan and conditional use permit for parking to allow the Tesla retail gallery to open at 2454 Lafayette Road in the Portsmouth Green.
Tesla will lease an approximately 3,200-square-foot space for the sales gallery from Waterstone Properties, which owns Portsmouth Green, according to city documents and comments from attorney John Bosen, who represents the company.
It will be located in what is now a vacant storefront next to McKinnon’s Supermarket.
“We think this is a good use of the space. We also think it will be well received by the public,” Bosen said previously. “The Tesla people are excited to be here. I’ve been excited to work on this project.”
During the recent Planning Board meeting, attorney Austin Mikolaities, who works for Bosen & Associates, explained that a Tesla sales gallery is “a small, new-age gallery for motor vehicles, electric vehicles”.
What to expect at the Portsmouth Tesla retail gallery
There will be four Tesla electric vehicles on site, two inside the shop and two outside for test drives, he said.
“Our generation went to a car dealership and there was a big floor plan and a whole bunch of cars to choose from. That’s not the model now,” Bosa said. “There are basically four Tesla models available to a consumer now. They can be changed online with variations.”
The owners of Portsmouth Green previously received a special exception from the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustment in October, which was necessary for the project to move forward.
Customers will be able to test-drive and ultimately choose their Tesla at the Portsmouth dealership, Bosen said, but delivery would take place at a Tesla service and delivery location. The closest one is in Peabody, Massachusetts.
“You buy a car here, you essentially buy it online, on the online portal, and it’s delivered to Peabody,” he said.
As co-founder and CEO of Tesla, Musk leads all product design, engineering and global manufacturing of the company’s electric vehicles, battery products and solar energy products, according to Tesla’s website.
“Since the company’s founding in 2003, Tesla’s mission has been to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy,” the website says.
