So Texas is not for "freedom" and "small government" ?
Who would have guessed.
Texas won't allow Tesla to sell electric cars directly
91–100 of 183 posts
Re: Texas won't allow Tesla to sell electric cars directly
#92This is Interstate Commerce, pure and simple. What would be really nice is for Congress to pass a law saying these state laws are illegal and suddenly the floodgates would open. Of course all of the car manufacturers will protest that, and their lobbyists are more powerful than Tesla's. But the real plan is for Tesla to make cars and sell them where it can. In time as people see more and more of them being sold and w…
It would be the car dealers protesting... I'm sure other car manufacturers would love to be able to sell their cars direct to consumer again.
You may be sure, but I'm not.
First of all, smart companies understand that the key to profit margins is to have barriers to entry. The need to develop a dealer network is a huge barrier to entry, and car manufacturers have an interest in preserving that.
Secondly, choosing to expand vertically can be a fast route to chaos. For instance suppose that Ford decided to get into running its own dealerships. All existing Ford dealers would get nervous, many would switch brands, and others already sell multiple brands and would direct their customers away from Ford. Therefore Ford would have to be very, very careful about opening its own dealerships.
Thirdly, even if car manufacturers want to get rid of the dealership model, none want to say this where any dealers might hear. Because of fear of the same kind of chaos as before.
So for all three reasons, there is no way that Tesla is getting any support for this from other manufacturers.
Re: Texas won't allow Tesla to sell electric cars directly
#93Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, I agree that the law is a shoddy law but that shouldn't allow Tesla to sell directly. Would small car manufacturers get special rules too? Laws are laws. Either change the law or enforce it. That's fair. Not cronyism.
The original intent of the law was not to prohibit manufacturers from selling direct. The intent was to prevent manufacturers from competing against their own dealerships. Tesla has no dealerships.
Did Toyota or Honda or BMW, when they initially entered US markets, get special laws? Or did common laws apply to them?
Re: Texas won't allow Tesla to sell electric cars directly
#94All too often, the media as well as average people mistake support for corporate interests as support for "free enterprise." When large corporate interests are essentially writing bills for lawmakers, "free enterprise" is precisely what is not being practiced.
Other car manufacturers can't sell directly. Why should Tesla get special rules?
I don't think anyone is suggesting Tesla get special rules (except maybe Tesla). More likely is an interest in seeing existing automobile franchise and anit-trust laws reviewed and possibly changed to remain in line with consumer needs, interests, and the operation of a healthy market.
Re: Texas won't allow Tesla to sell electric cars directly
#95Earlier quoted context omitted.
Other car manufacturers can't sell directly. Why should Tesla get special rules?
Other manufacturers had dealership agreements dating back pretty far into history. This is a really good listen: http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2013/02/19/172402376/why-buyi... I suspect it would be better for everyone if special dealership regulations were broken down. But, given that Tesla is a new car company, without any historical dealership agreements, why should they be bound the inefficient legal infrastructu…
Any of those dealers would love to sell Tesla cars, especially the higher-end ones that sell BMWs, Mercedes, Porsches, and Lexuses. Nothing is stopping Tesla from partnering with dealers to do so. Small Chinese car manufacturers don't get special treatment. Why should Tesla get them?
I know the dealership laws are awful, but IMO we should be focusing on changing those laws instead of giving special treatment to particular companies.
Re: Texas won't allow Tesla to sell electric cars directly
#96Funny 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.
> 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.
This is true in most states. It isn't a 'Texas' problem, it's a 'USA' problem.
Re: Texas won't allow Tesla to sell electric cars directly
#97All too often, the media as well as average people mistake support for corporate interests as support for "free enterprise." When large corporate interests are essentially writing bills for lawmakers, "free enterprise" is precisely what is not being practiced.
Other car manufacturers can't sell directly. Why should Tesla get special rules?
You do realize that manufacturers cannot sell directly as a result of dealerships lobbying & litigating to restrict and, ultimately, abolish the practice, right?
Re: Texas won't allow Tesla to sell electric cars directly
#98Earlier quoted context omitted.
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…
> 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
Jeffersonian democrats certainly were against that idea, as evidenced by nullification, which was in issue up until the civil war.
Maybe the federalists, but it sounds extreme even for them.
It sounds like something that the northern politicians had in mind in the late 19th century or maybe early 20th century.
i know its OT, but could you expand on that idea?
Re: Texas won't allow Tesla to sell electric cars directly
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
The large corporate interests have the infrastructure in place and don't particularly want to sell directly. This regulation serves as a moat to keep out competition.
1) The large corporate interests don't own that infrastructure. The actual owners can choose whoever they want to represent. 2) What's stopping Tesla from partnering with Toyota dealers? 3) With its $10B valuation, Tesla could build 10 very nice dealerships for 1% of its valuation.
To be clear, this is more about inertia than it is some nefarious cabal erecting barriers to Tesla.
But, if the regulation was a big problem for the corporate interests? The regulations would definitely not still be here. When it comes to money and regulations, I like to picture water acting on rock over time -- they get carved away a little bit at a time.
Re: Texas won't allow Tesla to sell electric cars directly
#100This is simply ridiculous. I won't even dare to imagine what our country will be like if our president is from that idiotic state. oh wait, it has happened, and it got us into shitty wars and trillions of dollars in debt.
Greetings from Texas! I tried to be friendly but was modded down, so I'll just be straightforward: Your insult of our state is unkind and inaccurate.