Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Texas won't allow Tesla to sell electric cars directly

treehugger.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 183 posts

Re: Texas won't allow Tesla to sell electric cars directly

#11

Post by DanBC »

Rudism wrote: post #7
bratsche wrote: post #3

There's already a Tesla store in Houston. How did they open that store, and will they be able to keep it open? I've seen a couple Teslas driving around Dallas, and am hoping to see more.

I remember reading some time ago that Tesla's loop-hole for opening storefronts is that they don't actually sell cars to people there... they just inform people about the cars and answer their questions. When it's time to actually buy one, they sit you down at a internet terminal and you order over the web just as you would if you were purchasing from anywhere else.

Would they have been collecting and paying sales tax?

Re: Texas won't allow Tesla to sell electric cars directly

#12

Post by masonhensley »

bratsche wrote: post #3

There's already a Tesla store in Houston. How did they open that store, and will they be able to keep it open? I've seen a couple Teslas driving around Dallas, and am hoping to see more.

There are a surprising number of Model S's driving around uptown/ downtown Dallas. I believe the closest "dealer" is in Austin (195 miles away).

Interestingly enough, there should be a supercharger between Dallas and Austin by Q4 2013.

Edit: there is a service center in one of the burbs just blocks north of Dallas proper: http://www.teslamotors.com/service/dallas

Re: Texas won't allow Tesla to sell electric cars directly

#13

Post by cobrausn »

thrownaway2424 wrote: post #10

For the record, you also cannot sell dildos in Texas. I don't know why people are always crowing about how Texas is the land that respects individual rights and free enterprise. It's not. It's the land of unlimited corporate malfeasance, unchecked pollution, and a ban on fire codes.

The statute you refer to was overturned five years ago.

Re: Texas won't allow Tesla to sell electric cars directly

#14

Post by utnick »

Funny how similar it is to the alcohol situation. Its illegal for a brewery to sell beer directly to the public in Texas, they have to go through a middleman (distributor) that doesn't really provide value.

Although in the last legislative session the rules got relaxed somewhat ( especially for brewpubs ), its still pretty similar.

Re: Texas won't allow Tesla to sell electric cars directly

#15

Post by masonhensley »

DanBC wrote: post #11
Rudism wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember reading some time ago that Tesla's loop-hole for opening storefronts is that they don't actually sell cars to people there... they just inform people about the cars and answer their questions. When it's time to actually buy one, they sit you down at a internet terminal and you order over the web just as you would if you were purchasing from anywhere else.

Would they have been collecting and paying sales tax?

I think you pay the sales tax when you register the car, just like you would during a private sale. The only difference is that when you buy a car from a dealer, they probably help fill out that paperwork.

I could be wrong, I've never bought a new car & my current vehicles were both gifts from a family member which only carried a flat $10 tax.

Texas auto sales tax info: http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/mtr_veh/mv_su.html

Re: Texas won't allow Tesla to sell electric cars directly

#16

Post by DEinspanjer »

bratsche wrote: post #3

There's already a Tesla store in Houston. How did they open that store, and will they be able to keep it open? I've seen a couple Teslas driving around Dallas, and am hoping to see more.

They can show the demo car and the skateboard model (i.e. wheels and battery pack) they have in the store, and they can answer technical questions about the car, but they are not allowed to discuss prices with anyone nor are they allowed to facilitate the purchase. There are further frustrating restrictions in Texas around the service of vehicles. The Tesla service center cannot directly handle a request for service. The customer must call a department in California and make arrangements with them, then that department forwards the request to the Texas service center.

This information is based on what I remember of reading various posts in the teslamotorsclub.com forums.

Re: Texas won't allow Tesla to sell electric cars directly

#17

Post by darkarmani »

thrownaway2424 wrote: post #10

For the record, you also cannot sell dildos in Texas. I don't know why people are always crowing about how Texas is the land that respects individual rights and free enterprise. It's not. It's the land of unlimited corporate malfeasance, unchecked pollution, and a ban on fire codes.

I thought that was changed about 6 years ago? Prior to that you could sell things that were almost completely like dildos, but they were called "demonstrators" for educational use only. Interestingly enough, they were only illegal if marketed for vaginal use and not for use in other ways since the other ways weren't considered "sexual."

Re: Texas won't allow Tesla to sell electric cars directly

#18

Post by thrownaway2424 »

cobrausn wrote: post #13
thrownaway2424 wrote: post #10

For the record, you also cannot sell dildos in Texas. I don't know why people are always crowing about how Texas is the land that respects individual rights and free enterprise. It's not. It's the land of unlimited corporate malfeasance, unchecked pollution, and a ban on fire codes.

The statute you refer to was overturned five years ago.

Sure, by a federal court. The state, under the same governor who is still in office today, went to court and argued that Texas had a compelling interest in preventing people from having sex for reasons other than procreation.

Re: Texas won't allow Tesla to sell electric cars directly

#19

Post by cobrausn »

thrownaway2424 wrote: post #18
cobrausn wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The statute you refer to was overturned five years ago.

Sure, by a federal court. The state, under the same governor who is still in office today, went to court and argued that Texas had a compelling interest in preventing people from having sex for reasons other than procreation.

Yeah, it's an example of government as envisioned by the founders working as intended - when someone at the state level overreaches, a federal court strikes it down (I'm hoping the same thing happens to this absurd law regarding dealer sales). This happens in more places than just Texas.

Doesn't change the fact that your first statement is not factual anymore. Given time I think we (Texans) can eventually stop / vote out all these morons who think legislating morality is their job - we've been headed that way last few elections anyway.

Re: Texas won't allow Tesla to sell electric cars directly

#20

Post by TamDenholm »

thrownaway2424 wrote: post #10

For the record, you also cannot sell dildos in Texas. I don't know why people are always crowing about how Texas is the land that respects individual rights and free enterprise. It's not. It's the land of unlimited corporate malfeasance, unchecked pollution, and a ban on fire codes.

This doesnt contribute to the OP's discussion but i thought i'd mention it anyway.

Texas love executing people. Since 1976 Texas executed 498 people, the state in second place is Virginia with 110. Also, their supreme court does not hear criminal matters, only civil, because it makes the appeals process for executing people faster.

But yeah, the law is a strange thing.

Post reply on HN