The City of Springfield License Commission approved a class 1 and class 3 car dealer license June 25 for Tesla Motors MA Inc., doing business as Tesla, at 365 Caldwell Drive, naming Matt Lavoie as manager of record.

Lavoie told commissioners Tesla intends to open sales and service operations to serve western Massachusetts customers and said the site would be “fully operational in August of this year.” He estimated total inventory, including customer cars and test-drive vehicles, at about 150 vehicles.

Commissioners raised questions about battery storage and safety for electric vehicles. Lavoie said the company “has a certain amount of batteries that we're allowed to store on-site” and described storing them outside in an open, accessible area that the service team determines, noting that plan is used in service operations.

Attorney Schmidt clarified that the class 3 authorization is for repairs and service, not salvage or a junkyard; Lavoie confirmed Tesla would service brand-new cars and customer vehicles and not operate a salvage facility. The commission moved to approve the dealer licenses; the motion passed with all commissioners voting yes.

The approval allows Tesla to establish sales and service operations at the Caldwell Drive address; commissioners did not add special conditions on battery storage beyond the applicant’s description and standard safety oversight.