Tesla demand remained strong during pandemic with consumers shopping online: Musk

(Reuters) – Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk in a podcast released on Friday said that demand for the company’s electric vehicles remained strong throughout the coronavirus pandemic, with consumers preferring to shop online instead of crowding into dealership shops.

Musk, talking to Automotive News’ Daily Drive podcast, said having a traditional dealer network – something the CEO considered in the past – appears increasingly unnecessary.

“We saw strong orders through the whole pandemic, we still had a good order volume,” Musk said. “I guess people are less inclined to want to go to a dealership, do the test drive and hang out in the lobby and that kind of thing.”

(Reporting by Tina Bellon in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)