LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Tesla takeover is happening here in our valley, and you may have seen it.
Channel 13 has found several parking lots around the valley are full of these popular electric cars, so we wanted to find out why.
Hundreds of Teslas are packing a Family Dollar and Dollar Tree parking lot on Sahara Avenue between Fremont Street and Eastern Avenue.
We wanted to find out why they are here and where they are going.
Reporter Ryan Ketcham asked Las Vegas resident of 59 years Steven Scott if it's crazy seeing so many Teslas in the lot.
"Yeah it’s crazy," Scott said.
“You know it definitely is, I’ve never seen so many Teslas in one parking lot," said Adir Yacobof, who works near the parking lot full of Teslas.
We spoke with several people who, like us, are wondering why this parking lot is filled with rows and rows of Teslas. Along with that lot, there are two nearby gated areas with what we counted hundreds more.
“You know, like I said, I don’t mind it being here, if Tesla is using this parking lot for storage purposes, so be it," Yacobof said.
We wanted to get some answers, so Ketcham reached out to Tesla's media team and also went to the closest Tesla location about a half mile from that parking lot on Sahara Avenue.
They said they couldn't tell us and referred us to their corporate communications.
Here's what we do know. The cars on this lot have plastic on the inside and some on the outside, along with QR codes indicating possible new vehicles.
We discovered Las Vegas isn't the only city with a Tesla takeover. On social media, we found the same thing is happening in Scottsdale, Arizona; Richmond, Virginia; and Seattle, Washington; among a few other locations in Florida and Missouri.
Ketcham did some digging and found that according to Tesla's first quarter earnings report, the company produced nearly 47,000 more cars than they delivered.
Now, we don't know if these cars are part of that surplus, but we did learn who's responsible for at least some of the Teslas sitting in parking lots across the valley.
“We actually have five lots around the city," said Resla Las Vegas City Supervisor Mike Bateman. "So in Las Vegas right now we’re operating roughly around 100 or so."
Resla is a Tesla rental car company operating in 10 cities across the nation, including here in Las Vegas.
“We are a contactless rental company that rents exclusively Teslas," Bateman said.
Bateman tells Channel 13 that they store their cars in several parking lots across the valley and offer single day to long-term rentals.
“At this time one of our brand-new model 3s rents for roughly a traditional rental cars compact car," Bateman said.
Several locals who spoke with Channel 13 say despite the packed parking lots, they're happy to see more Teslas in town.
Ketcham asked Yacobof if he would ever get a Tesla.
"Yeah in the future, I would," Yacobof said.
