Tesla opening 1st service center in Puerto Rico in March
Electric automobile and renewable energy solutions manufacturer, Tesla, is opening its first vehicle service center in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean in March, this media outlet confirmed.
“It’s pretty amazing that we finally got approved to open something down here to bring business to Puerto Rico, which is much-needed. So, we’re excited all-around,” said a source who spoke off the record.
The center, located on Calaf Street in Hato Rey, has been in the making for more than four years, after Tesla Puerto Rico LLC was registered in the State Department’s corporate registry in November 2017.
Two years later, in July 2019, Tesla Founder Elon Musk confirmed the company’s plans to open a service center in Puerto Rico on his Twitter account. In October 2020, the Municipality of San Juan issued a permit for a project called “Tesla San Juan-Service,” owned by Tesla Puerto Rico LLC, to open the Calaf Street office. A warehouse in the back can be used for vehicle storage and delivery.
Late last week, a simple red sign with the Tesla brand emblazoned on it in white lettering was installed in front of the building.
Tesla owners in Puerto Rico have spent the better part of the last four years clamoring for the opening of a local service center, as the number of the different types of models has grown to more than 1,000 currently being driven on island roads.
Most recently, and in seeming anticipation to the opening of the local service center, Tesla also launched a new local ordering and direct delivery option on its website for the Puerto Rico market.
Electric vehicles pay no excise taxes upon arrival to the island, as in 2015 the government approved a waiver on that fee on these types of environmentally-friendly automobiles.
