Tesla is opening its 2nd Alabama service center

NewsA Tesla Model 3 charges at a Tesla supercharging station situated in the parking lot of an outlet mall Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, in Lakewood, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)APBy Megan Plotka | mplotka@al.comHuntsville is set to become the home of the state’s second Tesla vehicle service center.According to Tesla’s website, the fcility is set to open in 2027. Alabama’s first vehicle service center was opened in Birmingham in 2025. There are also other locations within a two-hour drive of Huntsville, in Nashville, TN and Chattanooga, TN. In a year, people in North Alabama will be able to have their Teslas serviced much closer to home.There are already five Tesla chargers and superchargers in the Huntsville metro area. A list of Tesla service centers and chargers can be found here.Tesla leadership said their all-electric cars do not require regular maintence but the service centers are needed for collision repairs and other issues. It also uses remote diagnostics and over-the-air software updates. There are no official Tesla dealerships in Alabama and state law prohibits selling cars factory-direct to consumers. Instead, they are expected to partner with a local franchised dealer to sell their cars.Tesla prefers the factory-direct model. It uses company-owned dealerships and online sales to control each aspect of the product.Megan Plotka covers news for the Huntsville metro area. She is a multimedia journalist whose work stretches across digital articles, broadcast news and documentaries. She was raised in Huntsville and has been...