The Michigan Legislature last December considered a bill that would have banned all direct sales except for Tesla, an arrangement that allowed the automaker to deliver cars to customers, so long as the vehicle sale and title transfer didn’t occur in the state. Two years later, Tesla sued the state of Michigan when it denied Tesla a dealership license. Rick Snyder signed a bill in 2014 that was initiated and backed by the Michigan Automobile Dealers Association, banning Tesla from selling directly to consumers in the state. Michigan, home to major automakers GM and Ford, has been a longtime battleground.įormer Gov. At least a dozen states, including Arizona, Colorado and Utah have reversed bans that prevented Tesla from selling directly to consumers either through new legislation or via the courts. Tesla is a veteran of battles with state legislatures over direct sales. Rivian responded that two of the three claims in the case were nothing more than an attempt to smear its reputation. Relations between the companies have not always been so copacetic: Tesla last July filed a lawsuit against Rivian alleging theft of trade secrets and talent poaching. It’s a rare moment of cooperation for EV manufacturers, companies that must contend not only with each other but with legacy automakers for market share. Some of these states ban all EV manufacturers from directly selling to customers some only permit Tesla, at the exclusion of other companies, but cap the number of retail stores it can open. Similar legislation is being considered in Connecticut, Nebraska, Georgia, New York, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Nevada.
![target monopoly target monopoly](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/8e/29/12/8e29128ef4f7573563f8ba37dfbb9f96.jpg)
Tesla has six retail locations in the state. Washington is one of many states where such legislation is being considered. “We support our other EV-only manufacturers and their desires to sell direct-to-consumers, to invest, to create jobs and to do that unfettered as we are allowed,” Thad Kurowski, senior policy manager at Tesla, said while testifying in the state of Washington during the House’s Consumer Protection and Business Committee. Tesla and other allies argue that because they don’t have franchise dealers, they should be allowed to sell directly to consumers. The direct sales model has attracted the ire of auto dealers, who benefit from long-established rules in all 50 states that prevent manufacturers with existing franchisees from opening their own dealerships to compete with them. Tesla sells vehicles through their own branded stores - similar to how Apple sells its products - and do not have franchised dealerships.
![target monopoly target monopoly](https://www.allthingstarget.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_9773.jpeg)
Tesla and a growing number of new EV companies have a different business model than legacy automakers like GM, Ford and Stellantis.
![target monopoly target monopoly](https://www.savingsdonesimply.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/monopoly-target-game.jpg)
![target monopoly target monopoly](https://prod-cdn-thekrazycouponlady.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/monopoly-1-target-1527881934.jpg)
However, Tesla’s cooperation could also cost the company its monopoly on direct sales in some states. Passage of such legislation would clear the way for EV giants like Tesla, along with newcomers Lucid and Rivian, which have yet to bring a vehicle to market, to sell directly to consumers. Tesla, Rivian, Lordstown Motors and Lucid Motors - potential rivals in the burgeoning EV market - are working together to pass laws that would allow direct sales in at least eight states with another batch of proposed legislation likely being introduced this year.