Tesla is not allowed to sell its cars in some states of the USA. That is, it can’t open “dealerships.” Sometimes, even service centers are prohibited. That is unfortunate for Tesla and its (prospective) customers. But as many people are aware, all laws have loopholes.
Buying a car can be a grueling process. Keith Barry writes in Consumer Reports, “In an era of online shopping and instant gratification, the traditional way of buying a car can seem like a painful throwback. Some dealers are still doing business the old-school way: insisting buyers haggle over the price, hiding fees and charges until the last minute, and making customers wait hours to sign form after form.”
This story is about Tesla’s moats, but I don’t mean to imply that Buffett would invest in Tesla. Tesla is far from the value investments of the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio. Rather, Buffett’s comments are to demonstrate the importance of moats. Morningstar even has a guide called Why Moats Matter. Understanding the moats a business employs is clearly important to understanding the business and its future.
The most recent Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index (for 2015) — a yearly secret shopper review of auto-dealership sales effectiveness — has placed Tesla dead last, well behind pretty much every other auto brand operating in the US. The annual review aims to determine the degree to which auto dealerships (and … [continued]
Originally published on EV Obsession. Things seem to be heating up between Tesla and various auto-dealer associations around the country lately, with a number of new lawsuits and public complaints going through in recent days. Amongst those is a new complaint from the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association that alleges that Tesla … [continued]
Around 90% of the more than 8,000 state GOP convention delegates in Texas last week endorsed the idea that Tesla should be able to sell directly to customers in the state, according to recent reports. Notable opposition to that majority reportedly came from US Representative Roger Williams and former Republican … [continued]
For Cleantech Talk #18, Matthew, Kyle, and I talked about the Tesla buying experience and “Tesla dealerships,” the planned Chrysler plug-in hybrid electric minivan, and a 1 GW Quebec-to-Vermont HVDC interconnection (as well as the transmission network and renewable energy integration, in general). As a reminder, you can subscribe to Cleantech Talk on … [continued]
Elon Musk touting the idea of franchise Tesla dealerships? Sounds about right, doesn’t it? Wait, what? In a rather surprising comment — but I guess he makes those a lot, doesn’t he? — Musk recently noted that as Tesla continues to expand it may need to utilize franchised dealerships, in … [continued]
Image Credit: Tesla It appears that the unlikely truce between Tesla Motors and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers has finally come to an end — with the Alliance speaking out against what it considers to now be an unfair advantage given to the EV manufacturer. Specifically, while the Alliance claims … [continued]
Originally posted on Gas 2.0. A petition has been started on the WhiteHouse.gov website to allow Tesla Motors to sell its own cars directly to its customers in all 50 states of the USA. If you think Tesla should be able to sell its cars directly to customers, you should … [continued]
