Tesla opening gallery within Los Angeles Nordstrom store

The move was widely seen as an attempt by Tesla to confirm its position as a major player in the luxury vehicle market. The latest announcement if pretty juicy and could, if issued a few months earlier, be mistaken for a suave April Fool’s Day joke.

Tesla will open a “gallery” in Nordstrom at The Grove, a large retail complex in Los Angeles, according to Fast Company. Tesla is now in the process of obtaining a sales license for its gallery in Nordstrom, according to Fast Company.

California is one of the states that allows Tesla to sell cars directly to customers, so there is no legal obstacle to obtaining the sales license for this first Nordstrom’s location.

Tesla spokeswoman Keely Sulprizio says the gallery will be open at least through the end of this year. At that point, Nordstrom officials will decide whether they want to continue the relationship.

“We can help you with the suit, but not the vehicle”, said Nordstrom spokesman Dan Evans.

The fashion boutique owns about 121 stores in the USA and Canada with 200 Nordstrom Racks available in various malls and outlets.

The company received more than 350,000 deposits of $1,000 for the new auto, which is said it will begin building soon in its Fremont, Calif., factory and begin delivering in late 2017. This process would not be unlike the current maneuvering that Tesla does in states such as CT and Texas, where, due to decades-old franchising laws, its ability to build stores or sell directly to customers is constricted-or banned altogether.

These stores are usually located in shopping malls alongside upscale department stores and boutiques, but now Tesla plans to actually sell cars inside an upscale department store.

Tesla staff also will be present to answer questions and arrange test drives, although purchases would be limited to online and phone representatives. As a final option, the interested buyer could also do what any of us could do, which is visit Tesla’s website and place an order.