Tesla bypasses VFACTS

Tesla will not participate in Australia's new car registration reporting system and refuses to comment on the details of its investments Down Under.

At a press conference at the company's first retail facility in Australia in St Leonards on Sydney's North Shore this morning, company spokespeople declined to confirm any volume goals or expectations and would not detail existing order numbers for the new Model S sedan.

The company's Australian head of marketing and communications, Heath Walker, also confirmed the US-based brand would sidestep the VFACTS vehicle registration reporting system via which all major (and minor) automotive brands report their deliveries.

"We don't need to know what other [brands] are doing," Walker proffered when quizzed on the reason for bypassing the VFACTS program.

Tesla's interim head of Australian sales and Senior Global Inside Sales Manager, Kasey Krape, told motoring.com.au that it was company policy not to disclose sales volumes or facility investment details.

When asked how Tesla would define success in the Australian marketplace, Krape told motoring.com.au: "Sales in any marketplace is defined by numbers and already opening our first retail centre is definitely a sign of that success... [But] Any time we put Model S on the road it's successful. Any time we accelerate sustainable transportation we see that as success no matter what the number [of sales] is.

"We're making a huge investment here and the [market] mass justifies that investment."

Tesla currently has more than 20 staff on the ground in Australia, but is recruiting across a wide range of positions in both Sydney and Melbourne.

Its local shopfronts will include sales and service facilities in Sydney (as noted above) and Melbourne. The location of the latter is expected to be confirmed in coming weeks.

The company is expected to confirm the first of its shopping centre showrooms at Chadstone in Melbourne's southeast in coming weeks. A sales pop-up will open at the mega-centre on December 15.

Details of Tesla's first local deliveries are embargoed, however Walker told motoring.com.au that a significant number of Model S 'Signature' models would be delivered to their new owners in Sydney and Melbourne "before Christmas".