Because stupid things annoy me, in 2014 I wrote about a law passed (they say clarified) by the state that effectively barred Tesla from selling its electric cars in Michigan. The law says Tesla can’t sell directly to consumers, as it does elsewhere, and must use franchised dealerships like other automakers.
At the time, Daniel Crane, a law professor at the University of Michigan, called it “a real travesty” and “corrupt politics at its worst.”
And I wrote something along the lines of, “You’d think lawmakers would welcome free market competition, not put up barriers preventing it. After all, competition is a good thing, right?”
The answer is yes, it’s good, unless dealership owners – who obviously have a dog in this fight – tell them it’s not good, which is what seems to have happened here.
Flash forward to 2016: Tesla has now applied for a license to open its own dealerships here but once again they appear to have no hope of getting one since, once again, their dealerships wouldn’t be “franchised” – in other words owned by someone else.
Tesla is threatening to take the state to court. If they do, I hope they win not because I have any deep-seated longing for a Tesla – even if I wanted one, I couldn’t afford one – but because the state’s rules are needlessly dumb, and dumb always offends me. People should be able to get what they want, whether it’s peanut butter or automobiles.
I will say, though, that if Michigan, the Big Three and the auto dealers are so afraid of little ‘ol Tesla, there must be a reason.
Well, based on a 20-minute test drive I took recently, there is, especially if you like speed. The model I drove had a “ludicrous” speed mode, which is a nod to a line in one of my all-time favorite movie comedies, “Spaceballs.” (Dark Helmet, played by the epic Rick Moranis, orders his ship to go beyond light speed to ludicrous speed, after which he says, “My brains are going into my feeeet.”) In Tesla’s world, ludicrous speed lets you go 0 to 60 mph in under three seconds. They could have called it whiplash mode.
It was pretty cool. You should go down to your local Tesla dealership and test drive one.
Oh, wait. You can’t.
Car image credit: mariordo59
Snyder & Co. aren’t even trying to hide their corruption anymore. I hope Elon Musk does take them to court and I hope he wins.
This one was bipartisan shamefulship…
Republican Party in Michigan should rename there party the Crony Capitalists.
Or perhaps renamed
Genuine Obnoxious Party
May the Schwartz be with Telsa!
Beyond stupid and corrupt with both parties jumping in on the vote to keep Tesla out.
I am beginning to believe the Libertarians should be more than just a “third party.” Maybe a “severe buttock realignment” (Okay, “ass kicking”) of the two major parties might cause them to face reality. While I seriously doubt there are enough folks to change their habits and vote for someone other than a “major party candidate,” I can always hope.
Look at the weekly list of bills introduced in Lansing – while they fail to do the important things like fix roads or public schools – and you can see how maddeningly ludicrous our state government is. And it is bipartisan. One of the dumbest laws came under Gov. Granholm when they outlawed starting school before Labor Day while allowing high school sports to carry on untouched during the month of August: sports okay; education, wait until September.
When did they start allowing automobile dealerships to own multiple franchises? Al Serra used to sell only Chevrolet in Grand Blanc, now they sell a dozen different brands. If we want a Tesla we have to give Al Serra or Patsy Lou Williams a cut? I know we have monopoly laws, why doesn’t it surprise me we also have loopholes?
Okay, you guys, there seem to be two issues here:
1. Can Tesla open corporate dealerships, rather than franchises?
and,
2. Do we need dealerships.
I say, (1.) let Tesla open non-franchise dealers, because,
(2.) We need places to take our Teslas for repairs.
Republican fools in Lansing are nuts not to let Tesla open dealerships, and we need dealers for service on our Teslas. I cannot afford a Tesla now, but costs will come down. When I get one, I need a place for whatever the electrical equivalent of an oil change may be.
That empty tank plant could be a good place to build them.
In my opinion, you are in the pocket of corp. money. Your position shuts out the small business opportunity for many to own their own business. Telsa wants to hog all the profit for itself. Also, dealers work hard to resolve warranty issues on cars they sold. When Telsa makes and sells the car who goes to bat for you in a warranty dispute? No one! Dealers are necessary to keep manufactures in line.
I wasn’t criticizing dealers. Only the decision to target Tesla to keep them out to protect dealers.