Rigmarole Required To Buy Tesla Model S In Texas

October 29th, 2013 by Important Media Cross-Post

Originally published On Gas2.
By Christopher DeMorro.

Elon Musk is on a very-public crusade to challenge the established car dealership lobby, and while he has had some success at the state level, he has also lost in one of America’s largest car markets; Texas. A recent report highlights just how many hoops you have to jump through if you want to buy a Tesla Model S in the Lone Star State.

Because of very strong dealership franchise laws and a buttload of lobbying money, Tesla store representatives are prevented from giving you any kind of pertinent of useful information related to pricing. That means potential buyers are in the dark regarding costs, tax credits, financing, and leasing options. Tesla sales people can’t even offer test drives, and many customers leave the two Texas-area stores frustrated due to lack of info.

The most Tesla store reps can do in Texas is refer you to the website. If you actually want to buy a Tesla Model S, you have to do so through a California dealership. Tesla will then ship you your car on an unmarked transport with no new-car orientation or anything. They drop off the car and you’re on your own.

It’s the same case with Tesla-owned service centers, which cannot advertise that they offer Tesla service, or even display the Tesla Motors logo. They can’t even tell customers if there is a problem with their car; all that info has to be re-routed through Tesla’s California headquarters. Texas Tesla Model S are ineligible for Tesla’s buyback program, and because the sales are handled as out-of-state transactions, some customers are paying a higher interest rate, if they can get financed at all.

Even so, Tesla has managed to sell over 1,000 Model S sedans in Texas, though those numbers would no doubt be much higher if it were easier to buy the electric car. This has Musk considering a campaign on Washington to dismantle dealership franchise laws nationwide. It won’t be an easy fight, but it could have far-reaching consequences for more than just Tesla.

Source: Green Car Reports

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Tags: corruption, How To Buy A Tesla Model S In Texas, Restrictions On Tesla Model S Sales, Tesla, Tesla Model S, Tesla Texas, Texas, united states, US

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Important Media Cross-Post -- CleanTechnica is one of 18 blogs in the Important Media blog network. With a bit of overlap in coverage, we sometimes repost some of the great content published by our sister sites.

JimmySD

Pretty ironic that all the Texas “®freedom” worshipers need to buy their car through liberal California to get around all the “people that want to take away their freedom”.
- Doug
  
  Very ironic. Where are the free market supporters in Texas? Is capitalism dead in Texas?
NRG4All

Tesla ought to consider setting up a dealership just across the TX state line in several of the surrounding states in towns with bus service. Then, about 200 miles in they could set up one of their Superchargers. A buyer could take the bus to pick up their Tesla and then the only thing left is to go to the county tax office as AustinAnthony indicates. [;-)
- Guest
  
  While I am not arguing that this is theoretically smart, you might be underestimating the driving time it takes to get cross state in Texas. Even with multiple border locations, there would have to be a lot of superchargers to make the return trip possible(not to mention time constraints).
  - Bob_Wallace
    
    About 600 miles. Two in-state charges. One side to the other.
    
    Did the drive day before yesterday, however not in a S.
    
    Tesla has more class than to use the bus. They’d send a driver and a S.
AustinAnthony

I live in Austin, Texas and bought a Tesla Model S. Actually the buying experience is fairly easy. I bought the car via the internet and handled all transactions via e-mail, even financing, and had the car delivered to the Tesla service center in Austin and picked it up there. The only extra thing I had to do was go to the local county tax office and pay the taxes directly to the state to get my licence plates. No price haggling, no pushy sales tactics or a salesman having to talk to their “manager” to sell me the car at a lower price. There are frequent Tesla events across the state when you can test drive the car and I have been giving test drives to all my friend and family, much like many other owners. For having no advertising from Tesla and no dealership in Texas, this car is still out-selling the other luxury sedans. That says a lot about this car.
http://www.energyquicksand.com/ Edward Kerr

climate denial to the Nth degree…
Ivor O’Connor

Any chance of giving Texas to Mexico? No?

What happened to the “We the People” petition? https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/allow-tesla-motors-sell-directly-consumers-all-50-states/bFN7NHQR

It’s like Texas is from the twilight zone where all the shady people in the Universe gravitate to. Like patent trolls looking to buy legal support: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20060203/0332207.shtml

I hope they are given a notepad with a specially designed website to answer all their questions while they are visiting the two non marked stores in Texas. A website that gives them all the information needed in easy to follow steps making everything clear?
- Steeple
  
  Actually, I live in TX and have been surprised how many Teslas I have seen around here in spite of this. This is old political cronyism, which TX unfortuantely does not have a monopoly on.
  - Ivor O’Connor
    
    According to the article there are only about 1,000 in Tesla.
    
    You must do a lot of driving to see them.
    
    Today I realized I don’t look at what other people drive. Only their driving style. So today I started to make an effort to recognize what other people are driving. Maybe I’ll spot a Tesla one of these days if I start looking.
S.Nkm

Lobbyism is legalized corruption. How? Lobby groups made it legal.
- Matt
  
  The “Golden rule” dude. The man with the most gold makes the rules. And yet somehow Austin still made #4 in EVs per capita!
Robbo Levy

So much for free markets and free enterprise…Lobby groups are ruining the lives of Americans.
- brink
  
  Tesla needs to sue the state of Texas for interfering with interstate commerce. They have a legally operating business out of Texas yet they are interfering with wire transactions from another state. How is that legal? Musk needs a new legal team. He does not need to undo the dealership laws just push for his own island and demonstrate that the new law in Texas was implemented to prevent Tesla from conducting interstate commerce.
  - Bob_Wallace
    
    That’s how it seems to me. I imagine that it would be easy to find manufacturers selling product direct to customers all over Texas. I would think a judge would throw out the anti-Tesla legislation in a heartbeat.
    Wonder if we’ve got any attorneys lurking who might have a handle on this….