Tesla Motors Inc recently lost a battle for its direct to consumer sales model in New Jersey (in a rather back-handed way, it seems). However, while the automaker’s losing battles get a lot of press, it’s worth noting that Tesla can still sell cars in most of the country using its sales model.
Tesla Motors Inc’s presence in Arizona, Texas, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia is now basically one about just teasing drivers. The automaker has showrooms in those states but is unable to actually sell its cars. The people who work in those showrooms—whatever their job title is—can’t even tell potential customers how much the cars cost or help them buy one. However, Tesla’s cars are still available for purchase on the company’s website. In Maryland, customers can even test-drive a Tesla, but they still can’t buy one there.
And in Georgia, there’s a pretty odd restriction on Tesla Motors Inc’s ability to sell cars there. The company is only allowed to sell 150 of them in the state. That falls under an exemption from the auto dealer rules. A bill that’s pending in the state legislature would raise that number to 1,500, although drivers would then not receive the state’s $5,000 rebate for an electric vehicle.
“It seems there is a growing concern for many states about how the Tesla is sold, and how many a private company is allowed to sell to the public, considering it is an efficient vehicle, this will definitely raise issues in the market.” – Nermin Kajosi
Michelle Jones is a writer for ValueWalk.com
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