Tesla finally setting up shop in Philippines?

If there is a vehicle brand that is a rare sight in the Philippines, it’s Tesla.

Yes, quite a few are being driven around Metro Manila (and beyond) but Tesla is still not a common sight. All of the units you see on the road up to this point have been gray market units and not official; these have been imported by independent companies, not by an official authorized importer/distributor/dealer.

Actually, that’s what makes Tesla’s business model unique in the auto market: they don’t appoint dealers, importers or distributors. They don’t work with franchised dealerships. They sell directly to customers.

So if there’s any news of an official Tesla entity, you can bet we’ll be all over it. Which brings us to today.

It has come to our attention that Tesla may be (or is) working to set up operations in the Philippines. Specifically, they seem to be looking at Taguig. Our indicator for this is a popular social network for hiring: LinkedIn.

Tesla’s official LinkedIn account has posted at least 15 job vacancies, all of which will be headquartered in Taguig; we’ll venture a guess that it’ll be in BGC. They’re looking for sales advisors, service advisors, HR staff, customer support, order specialists, service managers, and the like. They’re pretty much looking for the staff any new incoming automotive company would be looking for when they’re setting up shop in any new country.

What is key, however, is that they are looking for a Store Manager; that means a physical dealership of Tesla for the Model Y, Model 3, and maybe even the Cybertruck. Also, they’re looking for staff that will focus on Home Charging solutions. The Tesla Powerwall is for Tesla customers moving forward and for the industry as a whole.

If it all pushes through, that would mean we could see Tesla Supercharger stations popping up around the metro and beyond. Of course, this is all still unconfirmed as Tesla hasn’t made any official announcements, but don’t be surprised if they do in the next few months.

Also, does that mean Elon Musk will visit the country if (or when) Tesla Philippines opens?