The electric automaker Tesla plans to open its first Illinois sales and service location outside the Chicago area in Bloomington.
Tesla wants to open its sales and repair location at 420 Olympia Drive, inside the Towanda Barnes Business Park in east Bloomington. The Bloomington Zoning Board of Appeals will consider Tesla’s request for a special use permit at its meeting 4 p.m. Wednesday at Bloomington City Hall.
A drywall company most recently occupied the space on Olympia Drive.
All-electric vehicles like Tesla’s make up a small but growing part of the U.S. fleet. There are now around 10,600 Teslas registered in Illinois, including 97 in McLean County, according to data obtained from the Illinois secretary of state’s office. The Illinois communities with the largest concentration of Tesla ownership are mostly in and around Chicago, including Highland Park and Barrington.
Tesla will be the latest electric vehicle entry into Bloomington-Normal. Rivian bought the former Mitsubishi Motors plant in Normal and plans to begin making its all-electric vehicles there starting in 2020. Rivian has said it plans to open a factory store in Normal.
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