The fireworks have faded and the beer cans are being cleaned up after another Independance Day in America. For Tesla Motors July 4th was especially liberating, with the petition to allow Tesla to sell its cars directly to consumers crossing the important 100,000 signature mark. Now the ball is in Obama’s court; will the administration respond?
The petition is in response to numerous dealership association-backed laws seeking to ban Tesla from selling its electric cars, like the Model S, directly to consumers. Though Tesla is not breaking any established laws, the dealership associations still feel threatened enough to try and force Elon Musk to adapt their business model.
This petition calls for a Federal-bill that would allow Tesla to sell its EVs to customers in all 50 states, superseding laws like the one in Virginia that disallows the sale of cars to customers. Someone wanting to buy a Tesla must have it shipped from out-of-state, a silly requirement that will do nothing to discourage well-heeled early adopters. Similar bills have been defeated in other states, but the notion that we somehow live in a free market where a company can’t even sell its own products due to lobbying from competitors is laughable.
With 100,000 signatures, the White House is (supposedly) obligated to form some kind of response. Realistically, it will probably be something along the lines of “blah blah blah states rights” but maybe the Obama administration will surprise us…in a good way.
Source: Autoblog Green
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