Tesla Will Butt Heads With Michigan Buttheads Again
Originally published on Gas2.
Despite having a plant in the state, Tesla has been blocked from selling its cars directly to the people of Michigan. Again.
Last year, the Michigan legislature passed a new law making it crystal clear that Tesla was not welcome in The Great Lake State. Governor Rick Snyder, a man who knows which side his bread is buttered on, signed the bill about 10 seconds after it was enacted. Thanks to a very powerful franchise dealer association, Michigan has drawn a bright red line around itself proclaiming “No Tesla Allowed.” One suspects the Big Three automakers, all of whom have their corporate offices in Michigan, may have had something to do with this as well.
That legislation passed despite a plea from the Federal Trade Commission reminding law makers that competition is the essence of the capitalist model and that laws favoring a small group of private businessmen over the public interest are bad policy. The legislators promptly threw the letter in the trash and voted the way their most prominent campaign contributors told them to. Nothing unusual in that.
But Tesla Motors is not easily deterred. To that end, the company has been mounting a charm offensive within the state, offering key legislators and state officials test drives in its cars to educate them to the benefits of electric motoring. “There doesn’t seem to be much interest from not only the dealers, but manufacturers like GM that want to continue to shut us out of the market entirely,” said Jim Chen, Tesla’s vice president of regulatory affairs, in a recent phone interview with the Detroit News, Will Nicholas, Tesla’s government relations manager, told the newspaper, “We have the majority of next year to lobby, discuss and debate the merits of what we think is a co-existence of our business model in the state of Michigan.”
Terry Burns, executive vice president of the Michigan Automobile Dealers Association, says Tesla is welcome in Michigan … as long as they sell through franchise car dealers. Burns even identified many established dealers would be happy to work with it to help market its automobiles, thereby demonstrating he has missed the whole point of the Tesla sales model.
Even Roger Penske- a racing legend who knows a thing or two about the car business- has weighed in on the matter. “If you look over the history of automotive manufacturers who wanted to sell direct or own their own dealerships, it’s been a failure. Tesla should just put their arms around many of us who can represent the car, service the customer — and they could worry about other customers.”
Tesla is investing in Michigan, despite the cold shoulder it has gotten so far. It has 4 SuperCharger locations operating within the state and shows a proposed service center located near Detroit on its website. It also bought Riviera Tool Company earlier this year and renamed it Tesla Tool. “We’re an American company that is building cars in the United States that is using over 55 Michigan suppliers — that is spending over $120 million in parts and components from Michigan suppliers to build American-made cars. Why shouldn’t we be allowed to sell in Michigan?” asks Tesla’s Chen.
Tesla is a patient but formidable foe. The world of automobiles is changing rapidly, despite the desire by entrenched private interests to resist. Hopefully, Tesla will eventually win its battle with the Michigan legislature. The only question is: when?
Reprinted with permission.
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