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NADA Is Terrified of Tesla
cartechboy writes It's no secret that the National Automobile Dealers Association has been trying to block Tesla from selling cars directly from consumers, but to date, it has been defeated countless times in many states. Now NADA put out a release and promotional video touting the benefits of dealer franchises, something Tesla has shunned. NADA mentions price competition, consumer safety, local economic benefits, and added value.
They are only crying because this a market they don't have cornered. Actual competition is terrifying to "free market capitalists". NADA can fuck right off.
..in the traditional sales system is not a thing that most people enjoy
Some people falsely believe they are "players" but they still get screwed
Most people are "sheep" and they get screwed faster and harder
I am not a master negotiator..I just want a car at a fair price
I always feel like a lamb in a roomful of tigers when I deal with a traditional car dealer
I'm a really good engineer, and I have many other talents..but cutthroat negotiation is not one of them
I really, really want a better system
While possibly true, it's complete speculation to tie this to Tesla.
But hey, Tesla gets page views.
Not really. Tesla doesn't really have the volume (or the low end offerings) to eat the dealerships' bread and butter(except possibly some relatively niche outfits who used to sell a lot more ~100k ICE vehicles to techies made good); but they have been extremely aggressive about 100% company-owned and operated sales locations, and have skirted the laws in various ways ("Information centers" that look sort of like a dealership except that the staff are forbidden to sell you anything, just show you stuff and you can go use that computer over there to buy online if you want...) in states where the dealerships have purchased protective legislation.
Barring a radical overthrow of the automotive order, Tesla isn't personally going to terminate dealerships; but if their model holds up, persuades lawmakers, survives in court in more hostile states, etc. it can be copied pretty much verbatim by any manufacturer that cares to.
And the NADA can't exactly be ignorant of how...beloved...a traditional industry it is that they represent. Merely seriously proposing that we could eliminate car dealers, in our time!, probably excites more people than fancy electric cars do. This isn't one of those "Upstart company disrupts traditional business right in the face, laughs" situations where hand-wringing moralists write books about the moral decline and inevitable decadence of our civilization occasioned by the hardships of the traditional business.