Jess Schultz with the Chamber & Economic Partnership in Ocala participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The Electrified Garage Open House on October 4 was a huge success despite early torrential downpours. The weather cleared, and an estimated 200 “masked” and socially distanced guests welcomed Electrified Garage to Florida. The Ocala Chamber of Commerce was on hand for the official ribbon-cutting ceremony, complete with a champagne toast!

Masked and socially distanced -The Villages Tesla Club held their monthly meeting ahead of The Electrified Garage Open House. 

This huge tent came in handy during the rain.

Complete with food truck.

A caravan awaiting to head out to head out to The Electrified Garage.

Backstory

In 2016, Rich Benoit, an IT manager, and Tesla enthusiast was curious if he could re-build a totaled Tesla. In doing so, he created his YouTube channel, “Rich Rebuilds” with videos about buying, repairing, and mining Teslas for spare parts. Fast forward to the present, and now Rich is an Internet sensation with over 700,000 subscribers and more than 2 million annual views.

In 2018, Rich partnered with a former parts manager for Tesla, Chris Salvo, to open up their repair shop, The Electrified Garage in New Hampshire. Chris is also the founder of EV Tuning, an online store that sells parts and accessories to electric vehicle owners.

Joining Rich and Chris as a co-owner of The Electrified Garage and staring in Electrified Garage videos with Rich and Chris is Chad Hrencecin.  Chad is a former Senior Service Technician with Tesla. 

Now, Chris moved to Florida, joined our club, and opened their second Electrified Garage in Ocala.

They are located at 1829 NW 10th St, Ocala, FL 34475.

Telephone: 352-354-9006

Rich explains, “The reason why we exist here is anything that your Tesla Service Center would offer, we could offer that service as well.  We are trying to break through and become a third-party resource for EV repair, not only Teslas.”

Click here for a 5-minute video.

At this open house, club members were able to engage owners Chris, Rich, and Chad, see rare early Tesla Roadsters, a Model 3 Lamborghini EV conversion, witness some wildly wrapped Teslas from SIGNATURE Customs Wraps & Coatings, and interact with other vendors.  There was a food truck, a huge tent for outside activities and the Tesla Orlando Store provided test drives. 

Rich Benoit, Chris Slavo and Chad Hrencecin

Even “Elon“ came out for the big day!

Angelia Link, president of The Villages Tesla Club and our club's Event Coordinator in the Central Region, did her usual outstanding job of assisting in the arrangements.

Here's a collection of photos:

Angelia Link, event coordinator extraordinaire.

Rachelle Stone, our club's Event Consultant, assists in distributing door prizes.

Club member Mike Mogilewski, the owner of SIGNATURE Customs Wraps & Coatings brought these striking Teslas. We had a recent Virtual Meetup with Mike and he announced that he would be partnering with The Electric Garage to open another studio here.

The crew at Rich Rebuilds and The Electrified Garage. Rich Benoit, Chad Hrencecin and Chris Slavo.

The previous two photos are of a rare R80 Tesla Roadster.

The previous two photos are of a Lamborghini being converted to an electric vehicle using Tesla Model 3 parts.

A close up of SIGNATURE Customs Wraps'  work.

A lucky door prize winner.

Are you a Tesla enthusiasts and feeling a bit of cabin fever during the pandemic?  If you're not a member, but would like to participate in our next Scenic Drive, Virtual Meetup or Socially Distanced outdoor event throughout the state, please click on the Join Us menu item at the top of the page. 

If you live in The Villages, I recommend that you join both clubs. Click here for The Villages Tesla Club.

Larry Chanin

President, Florida Tesla Enthusiasts

email: lfchanin@gmail.com

Website: teslaownersflorida.org

Facebook: Florida Tesla Enthusiasts