Wolverhampton Tesla body repair and service centre gets opening date

The 70,000 sq ft centre at Mammoth Drive also includes a Tesla showroom and will be a regional hub for its electric vehicle servicing in Wolverhampton.

The United States company has been recruiting in recent weeks for staff for the centre including service and paint technicians and body repair damage assessors.

Tesla's net income in the three months from January to March plummeted 55 per cent, but the company has said it will move up production of new, more affordable vehicles.

Elon Musk's company, which has its headquarters in Austin, Texas, made £910 million for the quarter from £2.02 billion in the same period a year ago.

Revenue was down nine per cent to £17.1 billion as worldwide sales dropped nearly nine per cent due to increased competition and slowing demand for electric vehicles.

Tesla also blamed an arson attack at its German plant and factory downtime as it switched factories to an updated version of the Model 3 sedan.

Tesla said in a letter to investors that its vehicle sales growth "may be notably lower" than last year as it works on the launch of its next generation vehicle and unidentified other products.

The next generation vehicle is the small Model 2, which is expected to cost around £20,000 and give Tesla more appeal to mass-market buyers.

The company also appears to be counting on a vehicle built to be a fully autonomous robotaxi as the catalyst for future earnings growth. Chief executive Elon Musk has said the robotaxi will be unveiled on August 8.

In 2019, Mr Musk promised a fleet of autonomous robotaxis by 2020 that would bring income to Tesla owners and make their car values appreciate. Instead, they have declined with price cuts, as the autonomous robotaxis have been delayed year after year while being tested by owners as the company gathers road data for its computers.

From January through to March, Tesla manufactured 433,371 vehicles and delivered 386,810, making over 46,000 more than it sold. This was even after it cut prices last year on some of its more expensive models by up to £16,000.

Last week, Tesla announced it would cut 10 per cent of its 140,000 employees, and key executive Andrew Baglino, senior vice president of powertrain and energy engineering, announced he was leaving after 18 years.

Tesla got the green light to open up in a building on the former gas holder site at the University of Wolverhampton Science Park just off the Stafford Road.

A wash bay for cars has been installed along with a series of post and wall-mounted EV charging points.