At this point, the direct sales model that Tesla has employed since it began, has caused controversy from state dealership lobbyists. The news today is yet again, another problem for Tesla.
In Connecticut, the state was set to pass a bill that would have made it legal to sell direct to consumers. This would directly effect Tesla and its car sales in CT. Yet, the bill died in the Senate there. That is very sad to hear in my view. Here is why I feel it is a law that is absolutely old fashioned and does not need to be law.
My reasoning is this: none of the auto makers make anything comparable to a Tesla. None have a long range marketable electric car. This is not a competitive threat to existing auto makers because they don’t make a car like Tesla does.
If GM has a long range electric car (not a Hybrid like the Chevy Volt) it would be possible to say the two companies compete but they don’t. The Cadillac ELR is a luxury rebranding of the Chevy Volt in the Tesla Price range. It isn’t an electric car. It is a hybrid.
For EV purists, the Tesla stands alone in the long range EV segment. There is none other. Without the long range EV, the car companies don’t really suffer lost sales to Tesla. If they were that concerned, they would make a long range Electric Luxury car that competed with Tesla. Since they haven’t, they must not be interested in the segment, so why interested in how that market segment is sold?
It begs the question of why they would fight to keep Tesla out of a state. Connecticut is right next door to New York, and many residents of the state (CT) work in New York. All they are doing is pushing their own citizens across state lines to purchase the Tesla.
How is this the free market? Why has government consistently ruled against the free market only to create business thugs that cripple consumer’s ability to make the choices for themselves?
It is extremely frustrating for electric car advocates like me to see politicians vote against the free market and the innovation that it represents because they are answering to the lobby of a business model that is not giving the consumers what they want.