4 ms·
> Many states completely hamstring the ability to sell EV cars directly and some states are downright hostile towards Tesla. This has nothing to do with EVs, i
by jonknee 10y ago
> Many states completely hamstring the ability to sell EV cars directly and some states are downright hostile towards Tesla.
This has nothing to do with EVs, it has to do with Tesla wanting to sell cars differently than anyone else sells cars. If Tesla wanted to do a dealer model they could certainly give it a go and be treated no differently than any other auto maker.
- nyxtom 10y agoTheir argument is that dealerships have no actual incentive to sell EV vehicles over other ICE vehicles given that franchises make most of their profit from servicing; as such this exposes quite a bit of unnecessary risk for Tesla or any EV maker for that matter. This is the primary argument in lobbying efforts that there should be an exception for EV vehicles in this case of similar laws. "Tesla General Counsel Todd Maron argued that the automaker wouldn’t thrive under a franchise dealership model because independent dealers make most of their profit from servicing cars while electric cars have little long-term maintenance and fewer moving parts."
- coredog64 10y agoAIUI, unused Tesla parts are hard to come by and the expertise to actually service the vehicles is thin on the ground. It is true that a Tesla dealership won't be able to charge for oil changes, but tires, suspension, interior fixes (e.g. power windows or that strange squeak) are still required. It is an easy fix:. Don't charge much for the franchise given the alleged lower service volumes. How many would show up at a Tesla dealership and then be convinced to buy an ICE car? If possible, write the franchise agreement to prohibit colocation with other ICE brands.