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.
More by Virgil Hilts
Latest Car Reviews
Read moreLatest Product Reviews
Read moreRecent Comments
- ToolGuy I am slashing my food budget by 1%.
- ToolGuy TG grows skeptical about his government protecting him from bad decisions.
- Calrson Fan Jeff - Agree with what you said. I think currently an EV pick-up could work in a commercial/fleet application. As someone on this site stated, w/current tech. battery vehicles just do not scale well. EBFlex - No one wanted to hate the Cyber Truck more than me but I can't ignore all the new technology and innovative thinking that went into it. There is a lot I like about it. GM, Ford & Ram should incorporate some it's design cues into their ICE trucks.
- Michael S6 Very confusing if the move is permanent or temporary.
- Jrhurren Worked in Detroit 18 years, live 20 minutes away. Ren Cen is a gem, but a very terrible design inside. I’m surprised GM stuck it out as long as they did there.
Comments
Join the conversation
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?