Hundreds of Tesla vehicles parked at a shuttered mall outside St. Louis have residents asking, “What the hell are they doing there?”

They’re not the only ones, either. Twitter users have picked up on the large number of EVs sitting on the lot, even prompting some to wonder if Tesla is suffering from a demand problem. Fortunately, a local news station has since investigated and has shed some light on the situation.

Initial reports indicate that more than 400 Tesla-branded vehicles were parked in the lot of the former Chesterfield Mall. The parked vehicles included an internet-counted 58 Cybertrucks. When the local news station reported on the matter, they counted “dozens” of Cybertrucks scattered among the various other models.

As it turns out, a Tesla service center is about three miles from the mall. The idea is that the lot is being used as overflow for new cars delivered at the closest service center, which is around 2.5 miles from the mall. The result is a “Tesla farm at the old Sears.”

Hundreds Of Tesla Vehicles Parked Outside Chesterfield Mall

“One of our users happens to be Tesla, who does have a dealership in the valley but does not have enough capacity to park all of the cars they are bringing in,” confirmed Tim Lowe, senior VP of the Staenberg Group, which owns the mall, “So they are renting the space.”

Now, the local service center has the capacity to park about 135 vehicles (including customer cars). It’s not clear just how full the lot is at the moment, but historical satellite imagery shows that the lot is often more than half-filled with vehicles. Locals say that it’s not uncommon for Teslas to be parked at the shuttered mall, but the number of cars in recent weeks has skyrocketed. So why the sudden uptick in mall-parked Teslas?

Workers at the local Service Center told local news that its lot is “not big enough to handle the growing inventory.”

After Tesla published its first quarterly earnings report for 2024, some speculate that the “inventory,” the term Tesla employees have reportedly used to describe the vehicles in the mall lot, represents excess cars that Tesla has not yet sold. Recent news out of Germany indicates that a local airport has been turned into a storage facility for potentially thousands of new cars. If true, this may indicate that Tesla is experiencing a rather serious demand problem.

It’s unclear just how many vehicles Tesla has in inventory today, as the automaker revamped its inventory system in North America last Summer to allow for duplicate “dummy” VINs to be scraped from its website. It’s estimated that the inventory in North America is slightly elevated (around 3.8%) versus Q1 2024.

To compound the increased inventory theory, the automaker recently cut over 10% of its workforce, including factory workers, at its production facility in Austin, Texas, where the Cybertruck and Model Y are built. Tesla also recently told Cybertruck employees that their shifts would be shorter, cutting back approximately 10% of its production hours.

Last quarter, Tesla built an excess of 46,561 vehicles, equating to around 10.7% of its total production. For comparison, Tesla had an excess of around 2% for the entire year of 2023, including 2.1% in Q4, 2.8% in Q2, and 4% in Q1—Q3 had more sales than vehicles produced.

Tesla also warned investors of “notably lower growth” in 2024, a hit to prepare for a bloodbath for its new vehicle sales throughout the year. Couple that with recent bad press from the layoffs and news that Tesla would slow down Supercharger rollouts, and it could spell even worse numbers than anticipated.

The Chesterfield Mall is slated for demolition in the fall. That means that Tesla may need to solve its demand problem by then, churn through cars quicker, or find another spot to store cars. Until then, people may continue to see vehicles pile up in the wild.

Hundreds Of Teslas Are Piling Up In A Vacant Mall Parking Lot

In a bizarre and somewhat concerning turn of events, a vacant mall parking lot in a suburban town has become the temporary resting place for hundreds of Teslas. The electric vehicles, which are known for their cutting-edge technology and sleek design, are now sitting idle in rows upon rows in the empty lot, sparking curiosity and speculation among residents and passersby.

The situation first came to light when local news outlets began reporting on the unusually high number of Teslas parked in the lot, which has been unused since the mall closed its doors several months ago. Eyewitnesses have described the scene as surreal, with shiny white and black Teslas lining the parking spots as far as the eye can see.

While the exact reason for this sudden influx of Teslas in the parking lot remains unclear, some theories have emerged. One possibility is that the vehicles are part of a storage or logistics operation by the electric car manufacturer, perhaps awaiting delivery to customers or undergoing maintenance and repairs. Another theory suggests that the cars may have been brought to the location for undisclosed reasons, such as testing or research purposes.

Regardless of the reason behind the mass gathering of Teslas, the sight of so many luxury electric vehicles sitting unused in a vacant lot has raised questions about their ultimate fate. Concerns have been raised about the potential environmental impact of leaving the cars stationary for an extended period, as well as the possibility of vandalism or theft due to their high value.

Local authorities have indicated that they are aware of the situation and are monitoring it closely, but have not yet taken any action to remove the Teslas from the lot. In the meantime, residents and onlookers continue to marvel at the spectacle of the hundreds of Teslas parked in the lot, wondering what will become of these high-tech vehicles in such an unexpected setting.

As the mystery of the Teslas in the vacant mall parking lot deepens, one thing is certain – this strange and unprecedented situation has captured the attention of the community and raised eyebrows across the town. Time will tell what the ultimate outcome will be for these sleek and powerful electric cars, but for now, they remain a sight to behold in the midst of a once-thriving mall turned barren parking lot.