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California dealers file complaint about the Tesla referral program

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I wonder if there is some validity to their argument. If such a law does exist, and there is no legitimate loophole, TM may have to change the program.
Personally, if the law from 1968 states what that article claims, then that sucks. Good luck changing it though.
 
Tesla, like Uber and Airbnb, is doing a nice job of showing how over-regulated we are. Most of us adults are not allowed to be, well, adults, and rent our rooms if we want to our accept a recommendation to buy if we want to.

For what its worth, it sounds like the dealers have the law on their side. It's an unjust law, but if you think so, don't just make a Tesla exception, take exception in general.
 
Tesla: <do anything>
Auto Dealers: Here are the laws that should be repealed or significantly modified, because clearly they are at best "simply stale".


It's quite nice of the dealers to do the research and push the issue for Tesla.
 
Tesla could probably solve all this by simply adding the phrase "Void where prohibited by law" to the terms, just like has been used with many giveaways, sweepstakes, lotteries, etc., etc., over the years.

Still I can't help but wonder: if Tesla really can sell all the cars they can build ("production constrained") - why do they feel the need to try and further pump up sales by having an incentives program? Sounds like sales demand is starting to soften. What do you think?
 
I think it's funny how people complain about dealers here. I bet they would love to run similar programs themselves...

Americans really seem to hate certain professions, unions etc. and then no matter what they do it's all bad.
 
Tesla could probably solve all this by simply adding the phrase "Void where prohibited by law" to the terms, just like has been used with many giveaways, sweepstakes, lotteries, etc., etc., over the years.

Still I can't help but wonder: if Tesla really can sell all the cars they can build ("production constrained") - why do they feel the need to try and further pump up sales by having an incentives program? Sounds like sales demand is starting to soften. What do you think?

Demand hasn't softened, it's just harder to increase it. (I remember when people thought they'd only sell 8-9k per year.) But that's just with the S. The X isn't out yet.
 
Americans hate car shopping so much they'd rather give up sex and do taxes

Okay America, this has gotten silly. A new study by Edmunds has revealed what we've always kind of known – people don't like going car shopping. What we didn't realize, though, is why, and what they'd rather do (or not do) to avoid a trip to the dealer.

Really, it comes down to the haggle. According to Edmunds, 83 percent of the 1,002 people surveyed would rather avoid haggling, with nine out of 10 saying they'd be more excited about the car-buying process if it meant a haggle-free experience (Saturn, you were on to something).

What's ridiculous, though, is just how much people hate the haggle. One in five said they'd willingly give up sex for a month rather than haggle for a new car. Another 44 percent said they'd be willing to give up Facebook while 29 percent would happily turn over their cell phones for a weekend to avoid sitting down with a dealer.

Even more worrying, though, are the number of people that'd simply prefer to avoid the car-buying experience all together. One in three people surveyed said they'd rather do taxes, go to the DMV or sit in an airplane's middle seat if it meant not having to go through the purchasing rigmarole (somehow, we don't think the 1,000 people surveyed have ever done taxes, gone to the DMV or sat in a middle seat before).

<snip>
http://www.autoblog.com/2014/06/03/americans-hate-car-shopping-so-rather-give-up-sex-do-taxes/
 
Demand hasn't softened, it's just harder to increase it. (I remember when people thought they'd only sell 8-9k per year.) But that's just with the S. The X isn't out yet.

OK, I think I get it. Maybe Tesla thinks that orders for the Model S may slow down once the Model X starts shipping, and they want to keep demand up.

Now, if a few states determine that this is illegal due to state law, would that also bar other reward programs? For example, DirecTV has been running a promotion for years where you can get $100 for referring a new customer to them; this is pretty much the same thing as the Tesla offer.
 
Now, if a few states determine that this is illegal due to state law, would that also bar other reward programs? For example, DirecTV has been running a promotion for years where you can get $100 for referring a new customer to them; this is pretty much the same thing as the Tesla offer isn't it?
 
The comment below the article from SeeThrough really irked me!

"See ThroughSeptember 1, 2015 at 1:25 am
“Tesla Motors does not have independent dealer network, so we understand that the referral program doesn’t harm any actual consumers or dealers.”
LOL!. How did the author understand this? Current Tesla owners and shareholders could be lying through their teeth to earn free money, misrepresenting facts and turning wishes into facts. People buying $100K lemons on twisted realities are harmed beyond repair.
Why is it that Tesla has to do everything illegally? Can they do anything without bending the laws? From accounting gimmicks to scamming the tax payers, to crying out loud at the door steps of white house(begging Obama to twist China government policies), this company has done it all. And all the while claiming that it is “production constrained”.

Response: I don't think I would 'talk-up' my car if I wasn't as into it, and ultimately, your referral does not mean it's absolutely a sale so it's up to the 'friend/family/associate' to decide to go for it or not. $1K to an owner who had spent $100K is NOT an incentive to lie! My rep is at stake too...

Ask all Tesla owners to see who do not like their car and would not boast about it?! It's a beautiful piece of work - and that is why we refer!!!

Ok, rant off..happy hump day all!
 
I am not a lawyer but the text quoted in the article says that "arranging a sale without a license" is illegal. But giving a referral is not arranging a sale. You are not participating in the sale at all. You are just sending them a candidate. If their interpretation of the law was correct I would presume any publicity not done directly by a dealership (or some other licensed entity) would be illegal. And to my knowledge, that is not the case. Again, IANAL, but this doesn't resist much rational analysis.