Two Tesla Motors stories surfaced this morning: GeekWire reports that Tesla will be opening a “store” at the Bellevue Square Mall, “on the second level, just north of Center Court.” That will double Tesla’s Seattle-area tireprint–they opened their South Lake Union show room in late 2009.

In contrast, Fortune‘s Alex Taylor III wonders whether Tesla isn’t simply running on fumes at this point. This weekend, Tesla Motors will test drive its all-electric four-door Model S flavors for an eager audience of “reservation holders.” While the price tag for the Roadster ranged from $110,000 to $155,000, the Model S is designed for the masses of less-well-to-do tech titans. The Model S base is supposed to be $57,400 (less a $7,500 tax credit).

Taylor is critical of Tesla’s business plan because of the car maker’s relatively tiny sales goals (20,000 Model S per year), the losses the company has incurred (over $300 million from 2009 to mid-2011), and the challenge it has set itself in producing cars built from the ground up at a faster pace than when Lotus was supplying the chassis.

Still, the “running on fumes” comment displays a mindset that isn’t asking in what ways Tesla isn’t like Detroit. When I picked up my iPad 2, I had a choice between 16GB, 22GB, and 64GB, just as Tesla buyers can choose between batteries with driving ranges of 160, 230, and 300 miles.

Did I really think it cost Apple $100 to add each 16GB of flash memory? Do Tesla buyers really think the extended-range batteries cost Tesla $10,000 or $20,000 to insert? Tesla’s Elon Musk points to the battery options as one of the areas that he hopes to make the Model S profit margin rise to about 25 percent.

Tesla remains a gamble, of course, but when driving range is akin to RAM, this is not your father’s Oldsmobile. Imagine taking your car into the shop and driving back out with a car that goes 60 or 120 miles more per “tank.” That’s fairly disruptive technology.