Anti-Tesla Push In Missouri

Originally published on Gas2.

The scumbags that make up the car dealership lobby are at it again, this time sneaking language into an unrelated Missouri bill that would ban Tesla’s direct sales model. There has been no public debate about this bill, and it’s already been passed by the Missouri state Senate, leaving little time for Tesla to mobilize its troops.

Missouri legislators added language to bill HB 1124, a bill originally pertaining to off-road and all-terrain vehicles, that would force car buyers to get their cars through a dealership, rather than through Tesla. Currently, Missouri law only prevents automakers with established dealer franchises from directly selling their cars, but the new language would make Tesla’s direct sales model illegal. Tesla currently operates a single store and service center in St. Louis, but planned to open a second one in Kansas City soon. That could all soon be in jeopardy.

HB 1124 originally passed the Missouri House of Representatives without the language, which was only added at the last minute on the Senate side, where it also passed. There has been no public debate on this law, and the fact that the dealer lobby thinks they could just slip the law in at the last minute without anyone noticing is really drives home the point that this is a group of arrogant, protectionist assholes.

Why is it only Republican-led states like New Jersey and Texas that seem to have a problem with Tesla’s innovative sales problem? Because car dealers know they’re hated, and they know their long-protected monopoly over car sales is under serious threat. People are desperate for an alternative to dealing with slimy sales people who will say or do anything to make their commission. Even members of the Federal Trade Commission (albeit unofficially) have weighed in on the issue, putting into writing what we’re all thinking.

If the car dealership model really is better than Tesla’s direct sales, prove it out in the open, instead of operating in the shadowy halls of state legislatures. Missouri’s anti-Tesla law still has to be re-signed by the House, and Governor Jay Nixon before it becomes law, so this battle is far from over. Now that the attention of EV enthusiasts across the world are focused on Missouri, those shady car dealers may be forced to slink back into the shadows from whence they came.

Source: Tesla Motors

Anti-Tesla Push In Missouri was originally published on CleanTechnica.

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