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Tesla Motors, maker of the hot and hotly anticipated $92,000 electric Roadster , will sell its products through factory-owned stores, not traditional dealerships. The company will put the first cars on sale in Santa Monica, California, in November, then move to major cities including San Francisco, New York, Chicago, and eventually Denver, Boston and other major markets. Automotive News quoted Tesla Marketing Vice President Darryl Siry as saying, "We can't hand over the car to an independent franchiser" who would "spend his time apologizing for the car's shortcomings." Therefore the company plans to run its own sales outlets, which he said would be more like an Apple computer store than a traditional vehicle dealership. Bloomberg reports 400 orders have already been placed for the first model, the two-seat Tesla Roadster , with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and actor George Clooney on the list. A second model, the WhiteStar sedan is due in 2010...

Tesla will be selling its upcoming electric roadster through factory-owned stores rather than franchised dealerships with the aim to create the atmosphere of a trendy Apple Store instead of the staid image of a regular dealer. Automotive News reports that the first store will be opened on Santa Monica Boulevard in LA by November, with other stores to open soon after in San Francisco, New York, Chicago and Miami. The news comes from Tesla’s vice president of marketing Darryl Siry, who also mentioned that after the initial group of stores are opened, even more will be opened across the US in places such as San Diego, Seattle, Denver and Boston. Tesla is expecting to sell up to 1,200 units per year of the UK-built roadster. Siry explains that the $92,000 Tesla roadster cannot be sold in a conventional manner. “A traditional dealer would spend his time apologizing for the car’s shortcomings rather than talking up the benefits”, he said. “We are going to design our own sales experience ...