Virginia Allows Tesla To Establish Traditional Dealership
One week after we mused that electric carmaker Tesla would never be able to defeat current state laws prohibiting factory direct automobile sales and thus must join the franchised dealer model, the company proved us wrong thanks to the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Tesla has been wrangling with the state for some time. Their request to open a dealership had previously been denied by the state’s DMV and the company was appealing the ruling in a county court. The next step is for the Virginia Motor Dealer Vehicle board to grant Tesla a business license.
Tesla had previously won approval to sell its vehicles in the state of New Hampshire but having a point near the nation’s capital is huge for the company’s exposure. Besides having near-perfect client demographics for the product, it affords CEO Elon Musk the opportunity to showcase his dealership to members of Congress, whom he is considering lobbying to pass a federal law allowing factory direct car sales to customers.
As this agreement has been in the works for some time, we cannot say if our editorial had any influence on the Virginia entities, but we cannot help but wonder if TTAC commenter and dealer apologist Ruggles, who posted a remarkable one hundred and seventy-four comments on our story last week, might have been in Richmond this week, wearing the lawmakers down until they caved.
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- Mike Wasnt even a 60/40 vote. Thats really i teresting.....
- SCE to AUX "discounts don’t usually come without terms attached"[list][*]How about: "discounts usually have terms attached"?[/*][/list]"Any configurations not listed in that list are not eligible for discounts"[list][*]How about "the list contains the only eligible configurations"?[/*][/list]Interesting conquest list - smart move.
- 1995 SC Milking this story, arent you?
- ToolGuy "Nothing is greater than the original. Same goes for original Ford Parts. They’re the parts we built to build your Ford. Anything else is imitation."
- Slavuta I don't know how they calc this. My newest cars are 2017 and 2019, 40 and 45K. Both needed tires at 30K+, OEM tires are now don't last too long. This is $1000 in average (may be less). Brakes DYI, filters, oil, wipers. I would say, under $1500 under 45K miles. But with the new tires that will last 60K, new brakes, this sum could be less in the next 40K miles.
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RE: "Author: doctor olds Comment: @Vulpine- "BUYERS are saying GM needs to shut down one of those brands..." Absurd!! GMC is strong and profitable, Sierra represents plus business at higher unit profit. The fact the GM production system builds Sierra as s trim level of a Silverado is one element of why this is a good business plan. Your notions about the cost elements are disconnected from business reality." Good points. Another small detail is that GMC is the brand handled by Buick dealers, who have lost Olds and Pontiac. In a market with Chevrolet, the GMC dealer provides a competitor that can work in the consumer's favor.
Has the irrational exuberance flamed out here?