Thursday I went shopping for a Tesla in Roanoke. I did it from my home office. That’s because there’s no Tesla dealer in Big Lick — or anywhere else in Western Virginia. Not yet, anyway.
The closest used Tesla I could find online was at a Rocky Mount used car lot. 220 Motors had a black 2018 Model 3 with a range of 260 miles-per-charge. The car has 88,422 miles and can be yours for $19,995, according to an ad on AutoTrader.com.
Soon, however, you might be able to buy a new Tesla right here in the Star City. The electric vehicle manufacturer recently applied to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles to open as many as five new dealerships in Virginia, including one in Roanoke.
Besides its location in Glen Allen outside Richmond, Tesla currently operates direct-to-consumer stores and service centers in Tysons Corner, Arlington and Norfolk. The DMV in 2021 also approved a Tesla dealership in Charlottesville. For whatever reason, that location never seems to have materialized.
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This time, the Elon Musk-led company is seeking DMV exemptions for dealerships in: Roanoke; Fredericksburg; Haymarket; and in Annandale, Springfield or Lorton; as well as in Leesburg or Ashburn. That suggests it’s planning to open at least five more Virginia stores but has yet to choose precise locations, though all but the Roanoke one are in the Northern Virginia or nearby…