The ongoing legal battle between Tesla Motors and various groups in Michigan concerning the ability of the electric auto manufacturer to sell directly to consumers — thereby bypassing the car dealerships — has taken an interesting new turn.
The company has gone ahead and revealed an assortment of new allies that includes: the Michigan Christian Coalition, the Michigan Conservative Energy Forum, the Michigan Federation of College Republicans, and the Michigan Moose Association.
“It’s time Michigan recognizes the rapidly evolving market changes impacting the new-car industry,” stated Michigan Christian Coalition Chairman Keith den Hollander (via Wards Automotive). “Consumers want more choices and more convenience. They don’t want to be forced by the government to buy their cars from a certain type of monopoly retailer.”
“Consumers should be able to choose to shop at a Tesla store or at a traditional dealership, depending on their preference and the kind of car they want to buy,” stated Casey Kreiner, chairman of the Michigan Federation of College Republicans.
For some background here, the Michigan legislature created a law that essentially banned auto manufacturers from selling directly to consumers a couple of years back, in a clear swipe at Tesla (and favor ]t8 t]to the car dealership associations).
Teslarati provides more:
Plus, Tesla Motors bought Rivera Tool and Die Company in Michigan late last year and is looking to invest more in the car capital of the US, according to the electric carmaker. For Tesla Motors, the coalition building could be a blueprint for going after other states to open their doors in 2016 and beyond. This could include Texas, Wisconsin, Iowa, South Carolina, Utah, Arizona, and Connecticut, where a libertarian strain runs, at least, on the surface.
…Bottom line, Tesla sees a wounded duck in Governor Rick Snyder and the libertarian streak runs real deep in Michigan. Seeing Tesla Motors in Michigan would be symbolic on many fronts. First and foremost, it could be seen as the US coming out of the protectionist “dark ages” and embracing an alternative (& better) car industry.
It’ll be interesting to see how much headway Tesla can make legally (with regard to the states where direct sales are banned) before the launch of the Model 3. The more legal obstacles that are removed, the higher that initial sales will be — so you can bet that Tesla is aiming to make significant progress ahead of the launch, in order to make more of a statement.
The right thing to do here is just so obvious, you have to wonder how this is taking so long.
Incumbent manufacturers and their dealers can have whatever protections they deem appropriate written into their franchise contracts. It’s not like dealers have no leverage these days.
Having statute law provide these protections is not necessary, and arguably never was.
I agree. It is not only not necessary, it is immoral. Government has no place picking winners and losers in the market, the law should not limit consumer choice. As the article states, let consumers decide if they see value in dealerships or not. If there is value in having them, they shouldn’t require the force of law to compel people to use them.