Tesla has returned...sort of...to Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The electric vehicle manufacturer had a strong partnership with the mall for many years. It leased a prominent space for a showroom, and for a row of charging stations in the parking garage off the Nordstrom wing. There were ambitious plans to build a Supercharger station on the mall property. But after Elon Musk enraged many in the region with his involvement in the DOGE initiative, Tesla became a target for protest, and its mall showroom abruptly closed.
The return of Tesla is quite underwhelming compared to what came before. A single vehicle on display as you often see from other auto dealerships. A simple display. A white logo cube with a bottle of hand sanitizer on top. As competitor Rivian readies a Bethesda Row showroom, and superior options from China are held off by Detroit lobbyists hoping the free enterprise dam won't burst, is a display car enough to compete in one of the biggest EV markets in the country?











