New Mexico Law Prohibits Tesla Stores and Service Centers

These people who refuse to accept that the world is changing everyday... I'm sorry to hear about. How far away is your nearest service center? Looks like at least a couple of hours best case. I hope they shoot it down. Pardon my ignorance, but is your legislature majority Rep or Dem?

Indiana and Arkansas with their hate laws... NM with their anti-tesla law - what's going on in between the coasts?

CHG-ON said:

Pardon my ignorance, but is your legislature majority Rep or Dem?

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The answer to the query about the partisan make up the New Mexico legislature, as if you had to ask, is Republican.

Partisan composition of state houses - Ballotpedia

I'm in Santa Fe and recently emailed my state senator and state rep. The state senator wrote back same day, very nice email, indicating he was a solar/EV enthusiast and was familiar with the Tesla situation and said he was willing to look into it. He was not too sanguine about getting any law passed in the legislature next session, as the only way it'd get on the schedule would be to have the Governor endorse it, and that's unlikely given who the Governor is. However, he suggested I meet with him in late summer and can discuss a plan. I'll follow up in a few months when I've met with him. Meanwhile, awaiting a reply from the state rep.

Unfortunately, I seriously doubt Tesla Motors itself is going to spend any time or lobbyist money on fixing New Mexico. Not a big enough market, and they have their hands full with other pesky states like Texas which represent much much bigger markets. So I think the only way the law is going to change in New Mexico is if the Tesla Owners in this state band together and make it happen. It won't be easy. The New Mexico Automotive Dealers Association has pumped over $500K into the campaign contributions of many NM legislators. They're bought. NMADA is probably scared stiff of Tesla and what it represents (the end of an era, a changing of the guard, a new way of doing business direct with consumers -- who needs the middleman?). Going up against NMADA has failure written all over it. It's almost inevitably a lost cause. But it can be done. And it should be done.

I dread the hassle, expense, and inconvenience that is coming when my car suddenly needs service. Especially if I'm way out in the mountains somewhere without cell signal. I figure I'd have to call Tesla's 800 number, wait for hours (days?) for a ranger to arrive from Denver or Phoenix, and have the car either fixed on the spot or flat-bed transported back to the service center. I don't even wanna think about it.

I'd rather right the wrong and fight what is a good fight. It almost seems like NM Tesla owners should band together and sue the NM government for this unfair law. Maybe that's how this gets resolved.

There's a simple loophole to fix that one - Tesla simply needs to form another corporation to own the SC. Otherwise, every independent repair shop in the state will be violating the law. BTW, rlpm, that's a very clever avatar!

New Mexico owners are waking up to the issue.

Yesterday, members of the Tesla Club of New Mexico converged for an impromptu photo op in front of the New Mexico Automotive Dealers Association headquarters.

Hopefully in time there will be enough cars to surround the building.

tinm said:

New Mexico owners are waking up to the issue.

Yesterday, members of the Tesla Club of New Mexico converged for an impromptu photo op in front of the New Mexico Automotive Dealers Association headquarters.

Hopefully in time there will be enough cars to surround the building.

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Ah, this must have been discussed at the Range Cafe meeting - sorry I missed it. Otherwise, I would have joined to help circle the building

I'm surprised to hear that New Mexico is one of the states that prohibit Tesla sales. My wife is from New Mexico, you would think the state would go full solar- and EV- aware. I mean sunshine is what New Mexico does, you know? What a great place to push solar and EV everything.

Had I known about the rally, and had I had my Tesla in time, I'd have been there.

Panoz said:

I'm surprised to hear that New Mexico is one of the states that prohibit Tesla sales. My wife is from New Mexico, you would think the state would go full solar- and EV- aware. I mean sunshine is what New Mexico does, you know? What a great place to push solar and EV everything.

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If you are a politician and big business fills your campaign coffer, doing what's sensible goes right out the window. Because politicians are allowed to serve more than one term, their job becomes getting elected the next time. They never ever think of anything else, other than maybe being hired by the industry they are regulating after their political career is over.

I'm in Albuquerque this weekend so this caught my eye. If ABQ had a Tesla service center, it would be the one I would come to. It is far closer and easier for Tesla owners in West Texas to drive to ABQ. Look at the map. Amarillo to ABQ is about 4 hours on I40; it takes me longer to do Dallas because it's even farther away plus is mostly on US Highways with lots of stops.

i hope you bring that to the attention of your legislators. You will be bringing business into New Mexico if you open the service center.

BTW we had a Tesla caravan to Trinity site and VLA yesterday, but no takers from NM. Cars from Texas, AZ, and Missouri, but no NM.

State legislators in New Mexico are unique, in that they are not paid. In general, they meet 30 days in even years to consider budget issues only, and 60 days in odd years to consider bills. Bills have to make it out of committees before going up for vote. A few members on a committee, or the committee chairman can block a bill from going up for general vote. I think it very unlikely that any bill allowing Tesla to open up a service center in New Mexico will be passed in the near and not-so-near future.

I wish Tesla would bypass the state of NM, and negotiate a deal with one of the many Native American pueblos and tribes in northern New Mexico to place a service center on tribal land. (Tribal lands are federal reservations -- subject to federal law but not state law.)

jplasmd said:

State legislators in New Mexico are unique, in that they are not paid. In general, they meet 30 days in even years to consider budget issues only, and 60 days in odd years to consider bills. Bills have to make it out of committees before going up for vote. A few members on a committee, or the committee chairman can block a bill from going up for general vote. I think it very unlikely that any bill allowing Tesla to open up a service center in New Mexico will be passed in the near and not-so-near future.

I wish Tesla would bypass the state of NM, and negotiate a deal with one of the many Native American pueblos and tribes in northern New Mexico to place a service center on tribal land. (Tribal lands are federal reservations -- subject to federal law but not state law.)

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We ran the Tribal idea by Tesla. Did a lot of research on it. Tesla wasn't interested.

jplasmd said:

I wish Tesla would bypass the state of NM, and negotiate a deal with one of the many Native American pueblos and tribes in northern New Mexico to place a service center on tribal land. (Tribal lands are federal reservations -- subject to federal law but not state law.)

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Too bad Tesal wasn't interested. That would be a solution for AZ also -- the current Tesla gallery is just a couple miles from tribal land, and there is also tribal land bordering Tucson.

tinm said:

We ran the Tribal idea by Tesla. Did a lot of research on it. Tesla wasn't interested.

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Why ?

SageBrush said:

Why ?

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Who knows.... but one issue had to do with not wanting to have to start from scratch, find a site, get permits, architect, builders, contractors, build a new building, etc. They'd rather buy or rent an existing facility.

I don't yet own a Tesla but I did put $1000 down on a Model 3 shortly after online reservations went live. I just found out about this statute and will plan to start pushing on my representatives (HD 43, SD 6) to work on a repeal of paragraph V in the next legislative session. The governor will be more difficult but she can be bypassed if large majorities of both chambers support the repeal.

In case anyone is interested here is the original bill introduced by Murray Ryan (R-Grant, Luna, Sierra) in 1997: http://www.nmlegis.gov/Sessions/97 Regular/bills/house/HB0047.pdf

The states are not stupid -- once a neighbor state allows Tesla, they were quickly fall in line to not lose revenue.

I do not own a Tesla (I would if I could afford one) but I am friends with over a dozen state legislators, both in the House and in the Senate. Plus I am working as a political consultant for a few Democratic challengers in districts that have been historically Republican. We are working to address this problem, but New Mexico's budget is heavily dependent on the petroleum and natural gas revenue, and the fossil fuel lobby in this state spent a LOT of money to get Susana Martinez elected. She, in return, had her PAC spend a lot of money to get as many of her party (mostly from the oil-rich southern part of the state) elected to the House in the 2014 cycle. Democrats hope to correct the latter problem this year and the first problem in 2018 when Martinez will be term-limited.

In the meantime, I will lobby Democrats to repeal 57-16-5, paragraph V from the standpoint of the their party's position on the environment and renewable energy and will lobby Republicans from the standpoint of their party's "free enterprise" position. It's an uphill battle against a well funded (or well oiled) fossil fuel lobby, but we're trying to fix this.

WFPeifer said:

I do not own a Tesla (I would if I could afford one) but I am friends with over a dozen state legislators, both in the House and in the Senate. Plus I am working as a political consultant for a few Democratic challengers in districts that have been historically Republican. We are working to address this problem, but New Mexico's budget is heavily dependent on the petroleum and natural gas revenue, and the fossil fuel lobby in this state spent a LOT of money to get Susana Martinez elected. She, in return, had her PAC spend a lot of money to get as many of her party (mostly from the oil-rich southern part of the state) elected to the House in the 2014 cycle. Democrats hope to correct the latter problem this year and the first problem in 2018 when Martinez will be term-limited.

In the meantime, I will lobby Democrats to repeal 57-16-5, paragraph V from the standpoint of the their party's position on the environment and renewable energy and will lobby Republicans from the standpoint of their party's "free enterprise" position. It's an uphill battle against a well funded (or well oiled) fossil fuel lobby, but we're trying to fix this.

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Good Luck!

I doubt the oil lobby cares much, but the auto dealerships care a lot.