The last few weeks have been difficult for Tesla’s direct-sale efforts. After a bill to allow the company to sell its vehicles directly in Texas died last week, now the same effort has failed in Connecticut.
It will complicate the buying process for Model 3 reservation holders in both states who will now have to buy online or arrange a delivery with Tesla in a neighboring state.
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As we reported earlier this month, Tesla’s battle to get the right to sell its electric vehicles directly to customers in Connecticut without having to go through third-party franchise dealerships took a turn for the worst after strong dealership opposition led to the DMV issuing a cease and desist for Tesla’s only gallery in the state
Now CEO Elon Musk pens a letter in a local paper as a bill to allow direct sales is about to go to a vote – likely this week.
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As we reported earlier this week, a new bill (HB 7097) is being introduced in Connecticut to allow direct sales of electric vehicles in the state. Tesla is pushing for the bill to pass, while local dealerships are strongly opposing it.
Yesterday, the Connecticut Transportation Committee held its first hearing on the bill during which Tesla and dealerships argued yet again over direct sales.
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While the bill SB3, a new legislation to allow electric automakers to sell directly to consumers in Connecticut, appeared to have died during the weekend after bill sponsor Bob Duff said that his caucus was divided on the issue and that he didn’t have the votes:
“I think the car dealers and others have been very effective in lobbying in their favor. We’ll come back again and try in another year.”
Now in a last-ditch effort as the legislative deadline approaches on Wednesday night, Tesla offered the state a new distribution center with 150 jobs to sweeten the deal.
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For the second year in a row, Tesla tried to pass a bill sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk in Connecticut, to allow the sale of electric vehicles directly to consumers without having to go through the franchise dealerships model. Last week, the bill SB3 was in consideration and awaiting a vote in the state Senate, but it is now officially dead following an impressive lobbying campaign led by GM and the local dealership association.
The electric automaker is currently entrenched in several battles over its business model of selling directly to consumers without a third-party dealership. While it is not an issue in most of its markets, Tesla is not allowed or under restrictions to sell its cars in several states including Arizona, Michigan, Texas, Connecticut, Utah and West Virginia.
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Tesla is currently facing strong opposition from the dealership lobby in Connecticut over a new legislation that would allow the automaker to sell directly to consumers in the state. The bill SB3 is currently in consideration and awaiting a vote in the state Senate. It would enable Tesla to open up to 3 stores in the state.
Besides the dealership monopoly, Connecticut has been very friendly to Tesla, offering up the first Supercharging stations on the East coast, hosting a service center in Milford and an upcoming Gallery multi-purpose location in Greenwich.
This week Tesla published the results of a survey showing strong support for its direct sales business model in the state, but the Connecticut Automotive Retailers Association is challenging the relevance of the survey.
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Following a unanimous approval of the Planning and Zoning Board of Appeals last week, Tesla is going forward with its first gallery in Connecticut even though the direct sales bill to allow the automaker to sell its cars in the state is still pending.
The gallery will be located in Greenwich on Greenwich Avenue and will exist for educational purposes rather than as a retail location, but it has more to do with local zoning restrictions than the current prohibition of direct vehicle sales in the state of Connecticut.
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A bill proposed by Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff to allow electric vehicle makers in Connecticut to bypass direct sales laws and sell directly to consumers, also called the “Tesla bill”, has been “overwhelmingly endorsed” by the transportation committee on Monday. The legislation will now be moving to the state senate for a vote.
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