Tesla's Model S[Courtesy of Tesla]
US electric car company Tesla Motors has started receiving pre-orders from South Korean consumers through its official website without mentioning an exact date for the release of cars.
Telsa has gained global attention by producing its electric sports model, the Telsa Roadster, followed by the Model S, an electric luxury sedan, and the SUV Model X. Tesla's standard Model 3, which can run 346 kilometers (215 miles) on a single charge, will be available globally by late 2017.
The US company opened its Korean version of its website on Sunday before receiving pre-orders and offered test drives for the Model S in Seoul. South Korean consumers who want to make pre-orders must deposit two million won (1,780 US dollars) for the Model S, five million won for the SUV Model X, and one million won for the Model 3.
Telsa's web page states the deposits will be fully refunded if a purchase is not made, but it did not disclose actual prices.
The US company is in talks with South Korean retail giant Shinsegae to open a showroom in Starfield Hanam, a major resort and shopping complex that will open next month in Seoul's southern satellite city of Hanam. Telsa also plans to open a separate store in Seoul's Gangnam district famous for being the theme of Psy's worldwide hit "Gangnam Style".
Yet, South Korean motor fans are somewhat disappointed as Telsa has released little information especially on how many and where its vehicle charging stations called "Superchargers" will be installed, though it has yet complete talks with domestic partners. Telsa has directly installed its supercharger stations but it may have to change its strategy in South Korea.
Tesla's world map showing its Supercharger stations [Courtesy of Tesla]
Meanwhile, Telsa was inadvertently caught up in a highly sensitive dispute between South Korea and Japan by using "Sea of Japan" on its map uploaded onto the Korean web page. Seoul has insisted the East Sea should be adopted internationally, triggering a diplomatic battle with Japan.
Criticism, however, turned into praise after the US carmaker rectified its map, using the name of "East Sea" in Korean.
Aju News Park Sae-jin = swatchsjp@ajunews.com