April 27, 2024

• 

[THE INVESTOR] Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk plans to make his first visit to Korea in June to attend the official launch event of the iconic electric carmaker in the country, The Bell reported on April 26.

Citing unnamed industry sources, the report said, Musk is finalizing his schedule to attend the opening event when the carmaker will start delivering Model S 90D to local customers.

Musk will likely visit Tesla’s showroom in Cheondam-dong, the posh district in southern Seoul. Considering his visit comes after the presidential election, he is also expected to meet key government officials along with business leaders during his stay. 

Tesla Korea told The Investor nothing has been confirmed on Musk’s trip. “We are planning to hold the launch event around end-June. But details, including participants, are still undecided. We are not sure whether Musk will attend,” a Tesla spokesperson said.

Tesla opened its first two stores in March in Korea -- one in the shopping mall Starfield Hanam that is owned by Shinsegae Group and the other in Cheongdam-dong.

At the moment, the Model S 90D is the first and only model available in Korea due to regulatory hurdles. The automaker has been taking preorders for the Model X and the Model 3, but the exact date they will be launched is yet to be decided. 

Tesla is speeding up its expansion in the country, with plans to install 14 high-speed supercharger stations across Korea by end of this year, including at least six in Seoul.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)