A new petition has been posted to the White House website asking the federal government to overrule state laws that require all cars be sold through franchised dealerships. A similar petition was initiated in April but withered long before the goal of 100,000 could be reached.
Link to petition: allow Tesla Motors to sell directly to consumers in all 50 states. | We the People: Your Voice in Our Government
Dealerships make most of their money through parts and service. An electric motor has few parts and requires minimal service. The Tesla service division has been mandated to add no profit to the company. If a problem does arise, a Tesla Ranger brings a free loaner to the owner and returns his car to a Tesla service center. Would a dealer be willing to do this? At no profit?
Dealerships have contracts with manufacturers granting the dealership a protected territory in which the manufacturer and other dealerships cannot sell that manufacturer's cars. There really is no additional need for laws to protect the dealerships' territories. The only reason would be to keep out a new competing brand with alternative methods for sales and service. That's un-American, anti-free enterprise, anti-consumer and contrary to the interstate commerce clause of the United States Constitution. Yet some state legislators bow to contributors of large amounts of money to their election campaigns rather than the desires of their constituents.
Please sign the petition and then write state and federal officials and ask them to overturn laws preventing Tesla from selling and servicing directly to consumers.
Link to petition: allow Tesla Motors to sell directly to consumers in all 50 states. | We the People: Your Voice in Our Government
Dealerships make most of their money through parts and service. An electric motor has few parts and requires minimal service. The Tesla service division has been mandated to add no profit to the company. If a problem does arise, a Tesla Ranger brings a free loaner to the owner and returns his car to a Tesla service center. Would a dealer be willing to do this? At no profit?
Dealerships have contracts with manufacturers granting the dealership a protected territory in which the manufacturer and other dealerships cannot sell that manufacturer's cars. There really is no additional need for laws to protect the dealerships' territories. The only reason would be to keep out a new competing brand with alternative methods for sales and service. That's un-American, anti-free enterprise, anti-consumer and contrary to the interstate commerce clause of the United States Constitution. Yet some state legislators bow to contributors of large amounts of money to their election campaigns rather than the desires of their constituents.
Please sign the petition and then write state and federal officials and ask them to overturn laws preventing Tesla from selling and servicing directly to consumers.
