Tesla Direct Sales Ban Possibly Hitting New York

Following other states in the US, New York is looking to ban direct auto sales in the state, which would prevent Tesla from selling their cars directly in yet another region in the US. It seems New York lawmakers are attempting to quietly get the bill passed through without a lot of attention, but Tesla CEO Elon Musk is already aware of it.

Musk tweeted today that "NY auto dealers are sneaking through a bill to shut down Tesla in NY." Many car dealerships aren't too fond of Tesla's selling model, which sells their cars directly to the consumer rather than using a middle man (a.k.a. car dealership). When that happens, car dealership don't make any money.

Tesla uses its own stores to sell their cars, just like Apple does with their products (although they're also sold at a few approved retailers). While one car dealer in Texas supports Tesla's business model for selling cars directly to customers, several states in the US have passed legislation forbidding such a thing, including Texas.

New York may be added to that list, as they're currently trying to get legislation passed through that would ban drivers from registering any vehicle not purchased from an independently-owned third party. The legislation refers to such a thing as an "unfair practice." This means New York residents wouldn't be able to buy a Tesla car without going to a different state.

We'll have to wait and see if the bill ends up passing, but we wouldn't be surprised if it did. However, Tesla relies on some New York businesses for components that go into Tesla's vehicles, so it'll be interesting to see what difference that will make if or when the legislation goes through.

VIA: Green Car Reports