Slashdot Mirror
Tesla Faces Tough Regulatory Hurdle From State Dealership Laws
First time accepted submitter vinnyjames writes "States like Arizona, Texas, Massachusetts and North Carolina either have or have recently added legislation to prevent Tesla from selling its cars directly to consumers. Now there's a petition on whitehouse.gov to allow them to sell cars directly to consumers." Laws that protect auto dealerships aren't newly created for Tesla, though, as explained in this interview with Duke University's Mike Munger.
I think we've just figured out what the next big thing is. Mercantilism should have disappeared centuries ago.
There are two kinds of people in my town: those who work at car dealerships, and those who would rather go to the dentist than shop for a new car.
Impossible! North Carolina and Arizona, at least, are libertarian paradises - very "business friendly" - that would _never_ pass legislation interfering with markets or freedom to contract. Never! There must be some misunderstanding.
sPh
If a federal judge can strike down Virginia's ban on out-of-state trash processors shipping their trash to Virginia landfills, striking down barriers to Tesla selling direct to consumers across state lines seems like a no brainer to me. And I'm a states rights advocate.
Three things,
Middlemen don't like being cut out. those that try find themselves cut.
Manufacturers, factories, etc don't want the headaches of dealing with uniformed idiots. Ever work a computer Hell desk? yea that has been going on for as long as we have had machines. The average person is barely above being an idiot and half the population is dumber than they are. I have explained the same thing to the same person 30 times in the last 3 months she still doesn't get it. She can't open her mind up to possibilities other than what she already knows.
Lastly, Middlemen provide slack, and options for the supply chain. In today's tight supply chains they are even more important than ever. As if the factory doesn't have your part your stuck unless your lucky enough to have a middleman with extra.
i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
Manufacturers, factories, etc don't want the headaches of dealing with uniformed idiots.
If manufacturers don't want to deal directly, they why do we need laws prohibiting them from doing so?
Middlemen provide slack, and options for the supply chain.
If middlemen really added value, then customers would be willing to pay for that value, without government coercion.
So, why not allow the option of middlemen, and the option of direct sales. If what you say is true then middle men will foster a better experience, capitalism will prevail, and companies dependent on direct sales will falter.
Right?
This signature is false.
And where was the political outrage towards Apple when they opened their own stores, for causing "unfair" competition with the other retailers?
(Obligatory computer analogy in this car thread.)
The manufacturers of other cars have to sell through dealers because of these laws, and they don't want Tesla to have an advantage, and the existing dealers want a chance to become dealers for Tesla so they can get a share of that action.
The average person is barely above being an idiot...
I admire your optimism.
I really don't see how anyone can perceive this as stretching the ICC. This is precisely the kind of thing it is actually for! States are erecting unconstitutional barriers to trade of goods from other states, that's exactly when congress should invoke the ICC.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
So the argument against removing the laws (for all auto manufacturers) and making the dealers "sell" themselves to the auto manufacturers is what exactly? That dealerships lobbied really, really hard to sell you a product that they add no value to? Can you say "crony capitalism"?
Having purchased a Tesla Model S the experience is the exact opposite of when I purchased a Toyota. Tesla's showrooms do not sell cars. They show them. When I went to the showroom I could ask questions without any pressure to buy the car. The only way to buy a Tesla is on their web site so there's no sales critters trying to get a commission. There are a myriad of options to choose from which allows you to get the exact car you want. I got the paint color, interior color and all the options I wanted. It went to the point where I chose the wheel colors and whether or not to have a rear carbon fiber spoiler (I chose not to). There's also no haggling over price. Tesla basically builds to order without having to deal with an inventory of cars. You order your car and they deliver exactly what you ordered, or in my case I picked mine up at the factory and took the tour.
At the Toyota dealership I didn't have much choice. I could choose any car as long as it was on their lot, plus there's the high pressure sales. The only thing worse than one of their car salesmen is a used car salesman (which they also sell there).
Dealerships don't really protect the consumer. As far as I'm concerned, they're leeches. A relative of mine bought a Fisker Karma and the dealerships are basically helpless since Fisker is more or less bankrupt in all but name. The warranty is basically worthless as is any pre-paid service and parts are unavailable. Since Fisker laid off their engineers even support is limited even if paid by the owner. The dealership my relative goes to is better than many. Many dealerships completely dropped any and all support for Fisker so the owners are completely SOL. There's nobody to even perform routine service on the vehicles.
I groan every time I have to have something fixed that's not under warranty at Toyota. They charge a premium for the service since they know that with a Prius you're unlikely to take it elsewhere.
Dealerships also wouldn't make nearly as much profit on service either. Tesla has vowed to not make a profit on service, but then again, service should be a lot simpler than a gasoline powered car. There's no transmission to service or wear out, only a simple gear reduction. There's no 5K mile oil changes, the motor is lubricated for 12 years. There's no fuel pumps or spark plugs to replace.
Since the number of cars sold is fairly low, a dealership would also be selling o
Tesla service consists of a 12,500 mile inspection, replacing the wiper blades and brake pads if needed (brake pads should last basically forever), rotate the tires, replace the cabin air filter and possibly flush the coolant. Service also may include hardware upgrades, software upgrades are distributed over 3G and can be applied by the owner whenever it's convenient.
Tesla has vowed to not make a profit on service. When I broke one of the clips on my roof they had to replace the entire panel next to the glass sunroof. If the panel were on my Prius, the dealership would probably charge $200-300 just for a replacement panel plus a fortune in labor. Tesla charged me $100 and $175 labor to replace it, which after explaining what they had to do to replace it was a bargain.
Things are quite different now than they were in the 1950.
This post is encrypted twice with ROT-13. Documenting or attempting to crack this encryption is illegal.