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"Trouble in Missouri"
- Thread starter Benz
- Start date
RobStark
Well-Known Member
Shout out to Republican Majority Leader John Diehl for being philosophically consistent.
Boo to rent seekers and their minions.
Boo to Democratic Gov Jay Dixon for remaining silent to curry favor with franchised dealers and the public.
And letting John Diehl carry the water.
Governors don't vote on bills. They can veto bills that are passed by a legislature.
Hi all,
Now that we're all back from the day's events, we can give you a better update. As it exists, the language in HB 1124 is likely dead. The co-sponsor of the bill (Rep. English) told us that he was very unhappy about the substitute language. That's the good news.
The bad news is that a reporter overheard the lobbyists for MADA at lunch talking about at least two other bills where they wanted to use the same tactics to attach the issue before the end of the week. So certainly it's not over, but at least we generated TREMENDOUS awareness among the legislators. One legislator came up to me and said "my God, do you realize how much phone traffic you've all generated with this issue?" He told me that every dealership in the state is calling every legislative office to scream the same BS lines about "consumer protection", etc., but they are also aware that most of this noise is anti-competitive tactic and that their actual voters are NOT screaming for dealerships to be the only model.
We stand ready in case we see the same language being attached, and several of the St. Louis Tesla Enthusiasts' group sit in districts that are key, including majority and minority leaders in the House. Members of the St. Louis Tesla Enthusiasts met 1:1 with their legislators while the Illinois guys held the fort outside with the cars.
We had 8 cars parked right at the front lawn of the Capitol building, and there were a total of 14 Model S's there, and 2 Volts. A total of 23 or 25 people showed up. As usual, our enthusiasm was occasionally mistaken as working for Tesla.
A gem of a picture from one of our members:
Now that we're all back from the day's events, we can give you a better update. As it exists, the language in HB 1124 is likely dead. The co-sponsor of the bill (Rep. English) told us that he was very unhappy about the substitute language. That's the good news.
The bad news is that a reporter overheard the lobbyists for MADA at lunch talking about at least two other bills where they wanted to use the same tactics to attach the issue before the end of the week. So certainly it's not over, but at least we generated TREMENDOUS awareness among the legislators. One legislator came up to me and said "my God, do you realize how much phone traffic you've all generated with this issue?" He told me that every dealership in the state is calling every legislative office to scream the same BS lines about "consumer protection", etc., but they are also aware that most of this noise is anti-competitive tactic and that their actual voters are NOT screaming for dealerships to be the only model.
We stand ready in case we see the same language being attached, and several of the St. Louis Tesla Enthusiasts' group sit in districts that are key, including majority and minority leaders in the House. Members of the St. Louis Tesla Enthusiasts met 1:1 with their legislators while the Illinois guys held the fort outside with the cars.
We had 8 cars parked right at the front lawn of the Capitol building, and there were a total of 14 Model S's there, and 2 Volts. A total of 23 or 25 people showed up. As usual, our enthusiasm was occasionally mistaken as working for Tesla.
A gem of a picture from one of our members:
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Krugerrand
Meow
Nice. Thanks to all and great picture. Just keep starring at the SigRed..but I digress.....Keep up the good work. Do you have people that will tip you off to last minute bill attachments? Also, there was some mention up thread that they may be trying to even add additional language to 'grandfather' in a local manufacturer of electric vans/trucks that is actually Chinese owned while blocking American owned TM.
There were some other conversations in the mix, the Farm Equipment Manufacturers' Association was noted as an ally, considering that some of their equipment may be considered "Motor Vehicles" in the language.
The Sig Red is my car. We had one of every color there except pearl white and gray - they were the only colors missing. That picture shows only 5, but we had 8 in front of the Capitol all lined up, and Tesla was giving test rides and drives.
Here's one from someone on twitter:
...and the staging area with all of the Model S cars and the Volts:
The Sig Red is my car. We had one of every color there except pearl white and gray - they were the only colors missing. That picture shows only 5, but we had 8 in front of the Capitol all lined up, and Tesla was giving test rides and drives.
Here's one from someone on twitter:
...and the staging area with all of the Model S cars and the Volts:
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Bradleybang
Member
Great job everyone who attended. Keep up the good fight. Should we group fund a donation to John Diehl to show our support?
What this tells me is that this fight is on the front lines for the whole country. NADA is obviously going to try these tactics in every state of the union - and a successful sneak attack here would really have emboldened them. Still might. Everyone needs to be extremely vigilant in every state.
Remember: this isn't about consumer protection, or consumer choice. The dealerships only want to protect dealerships. They don't want a world with efficient, low carbon electric vehicles. Their business model isn't selling vehicles, it's servicing maintenance-heavy ICE cars. This isn't just about Tesla's sales models, their real goal is to stop electric vehicles in their tracks. I've run into too many dealers who are actively hostile to electric cars. They don't care that we need to transition to sustainable transport to protect the environment, preserve precious natural resources, and the economy. They just want to make money now and to heck with the future.
SCW-Greg
Active Member
Right on! Way to organize and move quickly.
Don't let up though, don't be surprised about a second push with different title and language.
And Doug is right, every state is likely being set up right now. Each of us needs to make an effort to check on the bill cue. Likely every week or two.
Missouri House leader not fond of Tesla limits - Yahoo Finance
Sounds good. Reasonable men I suppose.
Sounds good. Reasonable men I suppose.
Thank you guys (and the other Missouri Tesla owners who met with their representatives) for doing what you did!
And thanks to all the Owners who showed up at the State Capital with their Teslas!!!
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Skotty
2014 S P85 | 2023 F-150L
Not many from KC there (I might have been the only one -- correct me if wrong) but I think most KC owners are actually on the Kansas side and don't have Missouri representatives they can talk to. Still, if this ever happens again, I would love to see a few more KC folks there. St. Louis folks were clearly there in force. A few others showed up from other areas.
A big thanks to all in attendance, and especially those who helped to organize everything and give people direction on what to do.
A big thanks to all in attendance, and especially those who helped to organize everything and give people direction on what to do.
It would not have been possible without all the help of many people.
First and foremost, it is the presence of everyone that is what makes the statement. One legislator told me that "I told Tesla if they want to make a statement, bring the cars to the Capitol," before looking across the 8 in front, then saying "this is a strong statement". When I told him there were nearly as many more - and that they were privately owned cars - 2 blocks away, he was floored. So most of the thanks goes to all the men and women who sacrificed their time and perhaps a vacation day to attend -- even those Volt owners, who came out to support us!
Then, by and far, most of the logistics of yesterday was handled by Liz G and her husband Brian. She opened her home to the small gathering to collect in the morning (and top off with a charge), and for a quick dinner in the evening while we charged up to get home. She was a primary contact point with Tesla, and did all sorts of communicating to try and get some energy going in the media.
Tesla, of course, came in to provide a couple of briefings to us on the status of the process and where things stood.
A really unflattering image, but here is a photo of me talking with Rep. English, the co-sponsor of HB1124 (but not a sponsor of the amended Senate language):
- - - Updated - - -
Later in the afternoon, a couple from KC did arrive with a Model S to show support... so you weren't the only one! But a big thank you to you, too, for making the trek and standing to support Tesla. If you ever find yourself on the opposite side of the state, let us know, you're always welcome.
- - - Updated - - -
Finally, these are the bills we're watching throughout the week:
Missouri generally requires that amendments only be attached to "relevant" and "related" bills... of course, HB 1124 was about All-Terrain Vehicles, so the bar to "relevant" is pretty low here.
That quote pulled from PoliticMO:
Tesla, Missouri Auto Dealers begin late battle over state franchise law | PoliticMo
- - - Updated - - -
And finally, one more... a press release from legislators' offices. We all met to thank Rep. Kelly for his leadership on this issue as the House session warmed up:
Cox, Kelly Announce Bipartisan Opposition to Anti-Free Market, Anti-Consumer Auto Dealer Legislation
Rep. English stood up and recognized Tesla and the presence of 20+ Tesla owners at the opening of the session.
First and foremost, it is the presence of everyone that is what makes the statement. One legislator told me that "I told Tesla if they want to make a statement, bring the cars to the Capitol," before looking across the 8 in front, then saying "this is a strong statement". When I told him there were nearly as many more - and that they were privately owned cars - 2 blocks away, he was floored. So most of the thanks goes to all the men and women who sacrificed their time and perhaps a vacation day to attend -- even those Volt owners, who came out to support us!
Then, by and far, most of the logistics of yesterday was handled by Liz G and her husband Brian. She opened her home to the small gathering to collect in the morning (and top off with a charge), and for a quick dinner in the evening while we charged up to get home. She was a primary contact point with Tesla, and did all sorts of communicating to try and get some energy going in the media.
Tesla, of course, came in to provide a couple of briefings to us on the status of the process and where things stood.
A really unflattering image, but here is a photo of me talking with Rep. English, the co-sponsor of HB1124 (but not a sponsor of the amended Senate language):
- - - Updated - - -
Later in the afternoon, a couple from KC did arrive with a Model S to show support... so you weren't the only one! But a big thank you to you, too, for making the trek and standing to support Tesla. If you ever find yourself on the opposite side of the state, let us know, you're always welcome.
- - - Updated - - -
Finally, these are the bills we're watching throughout the week:
Missouri generally requires that amendments only be attached to "relevant" and "related" bills... of course, HB 1124 was about All-Terrain Vehicles, so the bar to "relevant" is pretty low here.
That quote pulled from PoliticMO:
Tesla, Missouri Auto Dealers begin late battle over state franchise law | PoliticMo
- - - Updated - - -
And finally, one more... a press release from legislators' offices. We all met to thank Rep. Kelly for his leadership on this issue as the House session warmed up:
Cox, Kelly Announce Bipartisan Opposition to Anti-Free Market, Anti-Consumer Auto Dealer Legislation
Rep. English stood up and recognized Tesla and the presence of 20+ Tesla owners at the opening of the session.
is there any way to monitor the status of this in real time? How do we know if/when it will come to a vote or go to committee or back to the senate? Is Tesla on site looking at things? I'm nervous Nellie with this thing.
Mad Hatter: "Up is Down, No-Franchise is Franchise".
"This is a strong statement": Amazing what the threat of a motorcade engenders in the heart of a politician! With the pano roof open two* can sit on the roof and wave to pedestrians - grist for the evening news!!
* well maybe ONE.
--
"This is a strong statement": Amazing what the threat of a motorcade engenders in the heart of a politician! With the pano roof open two* can sit on the roof and wave to pedestrians - grist for the evening news!!
* well maybe ONE.
--
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