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Tesla finds loophole to New Mexico’s ban by launching on tribal land

warning26 5y ago
It's ridiculous that any states still have these antiquated laws requiring franchising for car dealerships. They serve no purpose other than to enrich middlemen. It'd be nice if they could be struck down federally.
- heliodor 5y ago
  Our politicians are too overwhelmed with lobbyist requests and their own corrupt interests to handle the no-brainer issues.
- bskap 5y ago
  The laws aren't antiquated. The old laws said "manufacturers couldn't sell cars direct if they had any dealers". States then updated them in the last few years to "manufacturers can't sell cars direct at all" specifically because of Tesla.
  - geon 5y ago
    Extreme corruption. When car manufacturers lobby for laws against their own interest, just to quell a new competitor, I don't know what else to call it.
    - buywarbonds 5y ago
      It's not the car manufacturers lobby, it's the car dealership lobby. Manufacturers generally don't own the dealerships which is what makes Tesla unique here. If all car manufacturers started selling direct, the dealerships would all be out of business.
  - JoeyBananas 5y ago
    Who are these politicians who hate American companies? It's beyond stupid.
toomanyrichies 5y ago
These are the states which ban car manufacturers from selling direct to the public: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_US_dealership_disputes#States_with_total_direct_sales_bans https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_US_dealership_disputes... Not sure which of these states have tribal land near major population centers, but that would be interesting to cross-reference.
- sanp 5y ago
  Seem to be "pro-business", "small government" Republican states.
  - babesh 5y ago
    If a biased, willfully ignorant person would care to follow the link and actually read it, they would see Ohio, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania on the list. Are any of these pro business, small government, Republican states? Don't let reality hurt your narrative. Perhaps it is actually the case of regulatory capture of both Democratic and Republican parties in both red and blue states?
    - austinkhale 5y ago
      Only two of the states you mention have a total ban: Wisconsin & Connecticut. The others you pulled from the list of states that have partial bans ie a limited number of stores are allowed. Out of the states with total bans: New Mexico, Alabama, South Carolina, Louisiana, Texas, Connecticut, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, 7 are traditionally considered “deep” red states, 1 is considered purple, and 2 blue. I’ve been to two dealerships in Ohio. I disagree with even a partial ban but limiting the number of stores vs a complete ban are two different things.
      - babesh 5y ago
        Those partial bans are effectively total bans because the numbers are so small. In fact, all the partial bans are in the single digits. For example, NY's partial ban is a grand total of 5 dealerships. This is a state with about 20 million people. There are at least 9 BMW dealerships in the Bay Area. Don't be disingenuous. Ohio: 3 New Jersey: 4 Maryland: 4 New York: 5 Pennsylvania: 5 Bay Area BMW dealerships: SF, Fremont, Mountain View, San Mateo, Concord, Berkeley, Santa Clara, Pleasanton, San Rafael
908B64B197 5y ago
Genius. Will give a well deserved boost in revenue to the local businesses, if they can capitalize on the influx of well off buyers going to the dealership. Might also shatter some pre-conceptions about tribal lands. "it can't be that bad, there's a Tesla supercharger and Store right there!".
- z3ncyberpunk 5y ago
  You have never been to many tribal reservations have you?
  - m463 5y ago
    There has got to be a joke there, with tesla continually failing to meet "reservation" promises. (for example, the plaid+ was cancelled, and the cybertruck has been pushed back to 2022)
    - teawrecks 5y ago
      The only reservation Musk wants to keep?
  - 908B64B197 5y ago
    No. And my limited understanding tells me each one is going to be very different than the others. I've heard extremely positive things and extremely bad things.
nickhalfasleep 5y ago
New Mexico is such an old boy’s network, going back to the Spainish conquistadors. Getting direct car sales takes creative thinking.
brianstorms 5y ago
Some background on this story that you won't get from the media. On August 23, 2015, I founded the Tesla Owners Club of New Mexico, with one purpose: fight for a change in the state law that protects the franchise dealer monopoly on sales and service in New Mexico. Six days later, on the 29th, we held our first meetup event, at the Jinja restaurant in Santa Fe. 12 people attended; we all sat around a long group of tables that the restaurant had pushed together. The 12 of us discussed the law, how we could get it changed, and during the conversation the idea of "well why doesn't Tesla just put a service center and store on tribal land?" That idea was so brilliant, I was so excited by it, I quickly reached out to Tesla to schedule a call with the corporate development and policy people at the company. That led to multiple long calls over a few weeks, and then Tesla suggested I do some research on the idea. So I wrote up a report with maps, photos, etc of various locations that seemed to make sense from an owner's perspective, and submitted it to the company. The company kind of stewed on it but decided to continue to pursue the legislative fight. So for the next four years I worked with Tesla, and many many state senators and state representatives to push for bills that would change the restrictive, protectionist laws and enable--hasten, really--the adoption of electric vehicles by companies like Tesla which did not use franchise dealerships. We held hearings, we had committee meetings, we had club members show up for events, offer legislators rides in our cars, we tried everything. But by 2019 it was clear there was just too much political pressure on the state government from the dealers and other interests like Big Oil, to get a bill through. All along we owners continued to urge Tesla to look at the tribal alternative. They finally began to look into that. We were largely in the dark for the next two and a half years as Tesla canvassed the state for a tribal partner. They found one in the Nambe Pueblo. The result was announced yesterday. Never again will Tesla owners in New Mexico have to plan indefinite hotel stays hundreds of miles away in other states while their car is serviced at some remote service location. Yesterday afternoon I used the app to schedule a long-deferred service appointment for my car (squeaks and other things) and the app showed the new local service center and I got an appointment! Yeah, baby. Never looking back. p.s. The Tesla Owners Club of New Mexico now has 536 members and is growing fast. http://tocnm.org http://tocnm.org
- toomuchtodo 5y ago
  From a fellow Tesla owner, thank you for your efforts in accelerating the transition to electrified transportation.

It's ridiculous that any states still have these antiquated laws requiring franchising for car dealerships. They serve no purpose other than to enrich middlemen. It'd be nice if they could be struck down federally.

heliodor 5y ago
Our politicians are too overwhelmed with lobbyist requests and their own corrupt interests to handle the no-brainer issues.
bskap 5y ago
The laws aren't antiquated. The old laws said "manufacturers couldn't sell cars direct if they had any dealers". States then updated them in the last few years to "manufacturers can't sell cars direct at all" specifically because of Tesla.
- geon 5y ago
  Extreme corruption. When car manufacturers lobby for laws against their own interest, just to quell a new competitor, I don't know what else to call it.
  - buywarbonds 5y ago
    It's not the car manufacturers lobby, it's the car dealership lobby. Manufacturers generally don't own the dealerships which is what makes Tesla unique here. If all car manufacturers started selling direct, the dealerships would all be out of business.
- JoeyBananas 5y ago
  Who are these politicians who hate American companies? It's beyond stupid.

toomanyrichies 5y ago

These are the states which ban car manufacturers from selling direct to the public: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_US_dealership_disputes#States_with_total_direct_sales_bans https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_US_dealership_disputes... Not sure which of these states have tribal land near major population centers, but that would be interesting to cross-reference.

sanp 5y ago
Seem to be "pro-business", "small government" Republican states.
- babesh 5y ago
  If a biased, willfully ignorant person would care to follow the link and actually read it, they would see Ohio, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania on the list. Are any of these pro business, small government, Republican states? Don't let reality hurt your narrative. Perhaps it is actually the case of regulatory capture of both Democratic and Republican parties in both red and blue states?
  - austinkhale 5y ago
    Only two of the states you mention have a total ban: Wisconsin & Connecticut. The others you pulled from the list of states that have partial bans ie a limited number of stores are allowed. Out of the states with total bans: New Mexico, Alabama, South Carolina, Louisiana, Texas, Connecticut, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, 7 are traditionally considered “deep” red states, 1 is considered purple, and 2 blue. I’ve been to two dealerships in Ohio. I disagree with even a partial ban but limiting the number of stores vs a complete ban are two different things.
    - babesh 5y ago
      Those partial bans are effectively total bans because the numbers are so small. In fact, all the partial bans are in the single digits. For example, NY's partial ban is a grand total of 5 dealerships. This is a state with about 20 million people. There are at least 9 BMW dealerships in the Bay Area. Don't be disingenuous. Ohio: 3 New Jersey: 4 Maryland: 4 New York: 5 Pennsylvania: 5 Bay Area BMW dealerships: SF, Fremont, Mountain View, San Mateo, Concord, Berkeley, Santa Clara, Pleasanton, San Rafael

908B64B197 5y ago

Genius. Will give a well deserved boost in revenue to the local businesses, if they can capitalize on the influx of well off buyers going to the dealership. Might also shatter some pre-conceptions about tribal lands. "it can't be that bad, there's a Tesla supercharger and Store right there!".

z3ncyberpunk 5y ago
You have never been to many tribal reservations have you?
- m463 5y ago
  There has got to be a joke there, with tesla continually failing to meet "reservation" promises. (for example, the plaid+ was cancelled, and the cybertruck has been pushed back to 2022)
  - teawrecks 5y ago
    The only reservation Musk wants to keep?
- 908B64B197 5y ago
  No. And my limited understanding tells me each one is going to be very different than the others. I've heard extremely positive things and extremely bad things.

nickhalfasleep 5y ago

New Mexico is such an old boy’s network, going back to the Spainish conquistadors. Getting direct car sales takes creative thinking.

brianstorms 5y ago

Some background on this story that you won't get from the media. On August 23, 2015, I founded the Tesla Owners Club of New Mexico, with one purpose: fight for a change in the state law that protects the franchise dealer monopoly on sales and service in New Mexico. Six days later, on the 29th, we held our first meetup event, at the Jinja restaurant in Santa Fe. 12 people attended; we all sat around a long group of tables that the restaurant had pushed together. The 12 of us discussed the law, how we could get it changed, and during the conversation the idea of "well why doesn't Tesla just put a service center and store on tribal land?" That idea was so brilliant, I was so excited by it, I quickly reached out to Tesla to schedule a call with the corporate development and policy people at the company. That led to multiple long calls over a few weeks, and then Tesla suggested I do some research on the idea. So I wrote up a report with maps, photos, etc of various locations that seemed to make sense from an owner's perspective, and submitted it to the company. The company kind of stewed on it but decided to continue to pursue the legislative fight. So for the next four years I worked with Tesla, and many many state senators and state representatives to push for bills that would change the restrictive, protectionist laws and enable--hasten, really--the adoption of electric vehicles by companies like Tesla which did not use franchise dealerships. We held hearings, we had committee meetings, we had club members show up for events, offer legislators rides in our cars, we tried everything. But by 2019 it was clear there was just too much political pressure on the state government from the dealers and other interests like Big Oil, to get a bill through. All along we owners continued to urge Tesla to look at the tribal alternative. They finally began to look into that. We were largely in the dark for the next two and a half years as Tesla canvassed the state for a tribal partner. They found one in the Nambe Pueblo. The result was announced yesterday. Never again will Tesla owners in New Mexico have to plan indefinite hotel stays hundreds of miles away in other states while their car is serviced at some remote service location. Yesterday afternoon I used the app to schedule a long-deferred service appointment for my car (squeaks and other things) and the app showed the new local service center and I got an appointment! Yeah, baby. Never looking back. p.s. The Tesla Owners Club of New Mexico now has 536 members and is growing fast. http://tocnm.org http://tocnm.org

toomuchtodo 5y ago
From a fellow Tesla owner, thank you for your efforts in accelerating the transition to electrified transportation.