In a situation that’ll seem downright ridiculous to many, it appears that the state of Indiana is seriously considering locking Tesla out of the state — with a real possibility that Tesla will be prohibited from holding a dealer license in the state after 2017 ends.
The Indiana Senate Committee on Commerce & Technology recently held a hearing on the bill in question — HB1254/Amendment 3, authored by GM — and will be holding a follow-up meeting on Thursday, February 25th, at the Capitol building (Room 233 of the Capitol Building, 200 West Washington St).
Here’s more on the subject via a topic started by “bjwModelS” on the Tesla Motors Club forum:
Existing law allows ANY manufacturer to apply for a dealer license without the use of independent franchised dealers. Despite having a lawfully granted license to sell Tesla vehicles directly since 2014 at the Fashion Mall at Keystone; despite contributing over $42M to the state through the purchase of parts and components from Indiana suppliers; and despite plans underway to construct a 26,000 square foot Tesla Service facility that will employ approximately a dozen Indiana residents and serve our customers, GM is pushing the Senate Committee to shut out Tesla.
Here’s how you can help: please contact your local Senator – and if you live in one of the districts covered by any of the following Committee members, we urge you to reach out and let them know they should not shut out Tesla. You can find your Indiana legislators here:
Chairman Buck: Senator.Buck@iga.in.gov , (317) 232-9466
Senator Merritt: Senator.Merritt@iga.in.gov, (317) 232-9533
Senator Delph: Senator.Delph@iga.in.gov, (317) 232-9541
Senator Head: Senator.Head@iga.in.gov, (317) 232-9488
Senator Houchin: s47@iga.in.gov, (317) 232-9814
Senator Leising: Senator.Leising@iga.in.gov, (317) 232-9493
Senator Tomes: Senator.Tomes@iga.in.gov, (317) 232-9414
Senator Breaux: s34@iga.in.gov, (317) 232-9534
Senator Broden: s10@iga.in.gov, (317) 232-9849
Senator Randolph: s2@iga.in.gov, (317) 232-9432
Thank you for your support and willingness to help Tesla stay and grow in Indiana. As always, when communicating with legislators, please be polite and respectful. Personal attacks should be absolutely avoided, as they will only hurt our cause!
I have to really wonder about decisions such as these. Don’t those involved in the bill’s approval realize that they’re harming their own state? And that Tesla will very likely continue growing rapidly even without Indiana? Tesla’s home state of California is entirely on its own one of the largest economies in the world… locking the company out of a state like Indiana is likely going to hurt the local economy there more than it is going to impact Tesla’s prospects.
“Don’t those involved in the bill’s approval realize that they’re harming their own state?”
What makes you think politicians have the best interests of their voters in mind?
This is all so Idiotic and being pushed by GM. What are they so afraid of?
What possible reason is there to do this? Have they got nothing more important to be doing than discussing something so utterly pointless and negative?
Tesla’s business model is the only thing that has worked right in the last hundred years in the auto industry and it would work better if there wasn’t companies like GM trying to stop it’s direct sales. Think about it Tesla was the only new auto company to survive the modern depression of 2008 which was a big feat.
Lutx is an a-hole. He killed the Ev1
Make the calls on the list even if you live outside the state. The tally these calls and it makes a huge difference when their switchboards are inundated. Calls can easily sway the vote.