At least in Massachusetts, according to an article in the business section of my newspaper, written by Jerry Hirsch of the
LA Times. The article says that Tesla got approval from the town of Natick to open up a company-owned dealership to sell their electric vehicles. They were then sued by the Massachusetts State Automobile Association that wanted to prevent Tesla from opening its own stores, without them getting a piece of the action. The lawsuit was dismissed by a Superior Court Judge, saying that state law did not intend
"to protect a motor vehicle dealer from an unaffiliated manufacturer operating a motor vehicle dealership" Elon Musk said:
"We are confident that other states will also come to this same conclusion and look forward to following through on our commitment to introduce consumers to electric vehicle technology in an open, friendly, no-pressure environment" . (Sort of sounds like the original Saturn idea to me.) A lawsuit against the public officials of Natick for approving the dealership is still pending.
I found this particularly interesting. The article goes on to say:
When Tesla started selling its flagship Model S luxury hatchback last year, it decided to bypass the traditional dealership network to open its own stores. By selling directly to consumers, Tesla gets to keep the profit that dealers make on new-car sales. It's also the only way an electric car will get a fair shake, Musk said at the time. "Existing franchise dealers have a fundamental conflict of interest between selling gasoline cars," Musk said. "It is impossible for them to explain the advantages of going electric without simultaneously undermining their traditional business."Reading that statement makes me wonder how electric motorcycles will be marketed at established major brand IC motorcycle dealerships once the initial novelty and surge of early adopter sales have subsided.
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Topic: Tesla can now establish their own dealerships (Read 676 times)