Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) has plans for a big new showroom and service center in suburban Miami-Dade County.
The Austin, Texas-based electric vehicle maker signed a lease for 45,255 square feet at 8789 S.W. 117th Ave. in Kendall. Opening is slated for late 2026.
It’s the former Toys “R” Us store just east of the Palms at Town & Country shopping center, a few blocks from the Kendall Drive exit of Florida’s Turnpike.
The landlord is an affiliate of Jericho, New York-based Kimco Realty Corp. (NYSE: KIM), which also owns the mall. The real estate investment trust took over Palms at Town & Country, an 80-acre open-air mall, as part of a $3.87 billion cash-and-stock acquisition of Houston-based Weingarten Realty Investors in 2021.
Financial details weren’t disclosed.
“Tesla is a distinctive addition to Palms at Town & Country,” said Katie Wycoff, Kimco’s director of real estate. “Bringing Tesla into the mix underscores the property’s strength and reinforces our intent to continue expanding the roster with impactful, experience‑driven tenants.”
The new location would include a showroom, service center and customer lounge, plus room for test drives on about 4.7 acres. The building dates back to 1993 and was occupied by Toys “R” Us until the children’s retailer shut down its brick-and-mortar stores in 2018.
Tesla, the nation’s largest EV seller, generally has customers order vehicles online and pick them at its showrooms.
The company already has around a dozen locations across all three countries in South Florida. Tesla’s Miami Gardens location was the region’s No. 1 dealership by total auto sales last year, according to Business Journal research.
As of 2023, Florida had nearly 255,000 EVs, ranking second in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties have some of the highest rates of EV adoption in the Sunshine State.
But experts say more public charging stations are needed to power all those vehicles, especially for owners who are unable to charge their EVs at home.
In its latest annual filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Tesla reported $94.8 billion in total revenue for 2025. That’s down 3% from $97.7 billion the year prior. The company posted a net profit of $3.8 billion for 2025. That’s down 46.5% from $7.1 billion for the previous year.
Tesla said the figures reflected slowing auto sales. Last year, the federal government ended a program that provided tax credits to consumers who buy EVs. The company, which has announced a pivot toward artificial intelligence and robotics, has also faced growing competition from Chinese EV companies.
Tesla shares were trading at $392.66 Friday morning, down 0.59% from market open. Shares were down 12.68% for the year ended March 13.
