Tesla to Texas: How Do You Like Us Now?

[CJ]

Social conservatives are not libertarians.

I don't see how social anything comes into this. It's the dealer network. Both Yale and I were both employed by an auto dealer in the past. I still get business from them, the auto finance industry is also dependent on them. Tons and tons of people are employed by that system. That's the issue here, there's a lot of jobs on the line. Is this really a better idea? I currently don't understand what Tesla intends to do, and I think if they really want to change opinion they need to explain it better. How exactly is this going to work? Why can't Tesla operate like every other manufacturer on the planet? Why do they deserve separate treatment? Honda, Toyota, GM, Ford, Nissan, etc. all operate under a dealer network?

[YALE]

When I am looking for a vehicle I always look in a 500-1000 mile radius, as far as I am concerned one day of my time to get a good deal or the car that I want is worth it. I know most people just waddle down to their local dealer and pick up whatever they have on the lot.


Tesla's warranty is ridiculous 85kwh models 8 year unlimited warranty on the drive unit and battery pack. Retroactive to previously sold cars and transfers owner to owner. Unreal.

I am confused how republican states can continue to support the franchise dealer model instead of direct sales and still talk about a free market society.

Social conservatives are not libertarians.

[beefed88]

I don't see this being more than a minor inconvenience for them. People with the resouces to buy these will go out of state to do it, or pay someone to deliver to them.

When I am looking for a vehicle I always look in a 500-1000 mile radius, as far as I am concerned one day of my time to get a good deal or the car that I want is worth it. I know most people just waddle down to their local dealer and pick up whatever they have on the lot.


Tesla's warranty is ridiculous 85kwh models 8 year unlimited warranty on the drive unit and battery pack. Retroactive to previously sold cars and transfers owner to owner. Unreal.

I am confused how republican states can continue to support the franchise dealer model instead of direct sales and still talk about a free market society.

[UserX]

I don't see this being more than a minor inconvenience for them. People with the resouces to buy these will go out of state to do it, or pay someone to deliver to them.

[YALE]

^^^^That article says otherwise...

Thanks. I read it previously, when it concluded the Model S was cheaper than the Odyssey. In the same breath, that analysis still puts it way cheaper than the luxury brands it competes against. I still think it may end up cheaper than the Odyssey, because insurance costs will be lower, but he omitted that.

[Ruffdaddy]

^^^^That article says otherwise...

[YALE]

Elon is guaranteeing a certain value, and I read somewhere that someone's done the math. Owning one is cheaper than owning a new minivan, even with the high cost of entry.

I'm sure I've posted it in here, but it's http://www.teslacost.com/

[racrguy]

I would expect it to retain value very well, for better or worse. I'd love to pick up a used one in the 40's but for one, I still can't afford that, and for two, I can't imagine they'd drop that much.

The one thing to be wary of would be a battery pack dying, and in Cali you can go to a "charging station" and swap out the whole damn battery pack for less than $100 and it takes 90 seconds. No shit.

Elon is guaranteeing a certain value, and I read somewhere that someone's done the math. Owning one is cheaper than owning a new minivan, even with the high cost of entry.

[Baron Von Crowder]

wa..... I know they have those supercharge stations around the country, but this is new to me.

Set up like an oil change, roll up, they swap your battery while you good off on your smart phone, then take your money and you agree good to go, fully charged

[CJ]

I would expect it to retain value very well, for better or worse. I'd love to pick up a used one in the 40's but for one, I still can't afford that, and for two, I can't imagine they'd drop that much.

The one thing to be wary of would be a battery pack dying, and in Cali you can go to a "charging station" and swap out the whole damn battery pack for less than $100 and it takes 90 seconds. No shit.

wa..... I know they have those supercharge stations around the country, but this is new to me.

[BLAKE]

Yeah I'm definitely interested in them. Probably a buyer on a preowed though, that 90k initial hit is going to be severe. Need to see how the S model performs in value retention.

I would expect it to retain value very well, for better or worse. I'd love to pick up a used one in the 40's but for one, I still can't afford that, and for two, I can't imagine they'd drop that much.

The one thing to be wary of would be a battery pack dying, and in Cali you can go to a "charging station" and swap out the whole damn battery pack for less than $100 and it takes 90 seconds. No shit.

[CJ]

So lame. If you've ever driven one, you want them sold in your state.

If you've ever driven one and you're a big 3 auto executive, you're probably filled with pants-shitting fear®.

(Pants-shitting fear is a registered trademark of Furburger Magazine Inc.)

Yeah I'm definitely interested in them. Probably a buyer on a preowed though, that 90k initial hit is going to be severe. Need to see how the S model performs in value retention.

[BLAKE]

So lame. If you've ever driven one, you want them sold in your state.

If you've ever driven one and you're a big 3 auto executive, you're probably filled with pants-shitting fear®.

(Pants-shitting fear is a registered trademark of Furburger Magazine Inc.)

[jw33]

http://blog.caranddriver.com/unplugged-michigan-governor-signs-gm-supported-anti-tesla-bill-into-law/

General Motors, the largest U.S.-based automaker, released a statement today supporting a last-minute addition to Michigan House Bill 5606 that would effectively prohibit Tesla from selling cars in the state using its preferred business model, or even providing customers with information about its cars. It’s the classic David-versus-Goliath tale, where Goliath wants the state of Michigan to take away David’s slingshot.

The Michigan bill, originally focused on franchise-dealership fees, included a last-minute amendment addressing direct-to-consumer auto sales through manufacturer-owned showrooms. That amendment, added by Republican State Senator Joe Hune, was tossed onto the bill at the very last minute, a procedural loophole that meant the amendment never underwent public comment or debate on the State Senate floor. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder just signed the bill into law.

Snyder, also a Republican, is up for re-election in a couple of weeks. If he didn’t sign the bill, he would have likely faced an immediate onslaught of attack ads paid for by Michigan’s auto dealers—something that would not have helped his cause in a race he leads by a slim margin.

In a statement, Governor Snyder said, “This bill does not, as some have claimed, prevent auto manufacturers from selling automobiles directly to consumers at retail in Michigan—because this is already prohibited under Michigan law.” The updated bill omits one word from the legal phrasing of the existing law, clarifying that manufacturers are only permitted to sell cars in Michigan through franchise dealerships.

“Not content with enshrining their ability to charge consumers dubious fees, on the last day of the legislative session, the dealers managed to make a last-minute change to the bill in an attempt to cement their broader retail monopoly,” Tesla said in a statement. “Using a procedure that prevented legislators and the public at large from knowing what was happening or allowing debate, Senator Joe Hune added new language in an attempt to lock Tesla out of the state.” Tesla’s statement goes on to point out that the Michigan Automobile Dealers Association is one of State Senator Hune’s top financial backers.

Today, a GM spokesperson said about the law, “We believe that House Bill 5606 will help ensure that all automotive manufacturers follow the same rules to operate in the State of Michigan; therefore, we encourage Governor Snyder to sign it.”

This isn’t the first time Tesla has had to fight for its right to sell its cars. Anti-competitive measures, backed by politically connected dealer associations, have barred the electric carmaker from selling its vehicles in New Jersey and Missouri, while dealer cartels in Georgia, Iowa, and elsewhere hope to effect similar bans. For its part, GM previously backed an amendment to an Ohio law that would ban Tesla sales there; that amendment was eventually struck down.

Our take: Competition in the car market is good for everyone. A direct-to-consumer sales model cuts down on chances for buyers to get hoodwinked—something that’s all too common in the current new-car-sales model. That General Motors, a company that sold more than seven million vehicles worldwide in the first nine months of 2014, feels threatened by a company whose flagship sedan has only just crested 25,000 sales in total, demonstrates the degree to which Elon Musk’s car company is shaking up the car-sales landscape. It’s an industry in desperate need of shaking up, and trying to force Tesla to play by the old cronies’ rules is like requiring the company to put gasoline engines in its cars—a backward-looking hindrance to the future-facing market disruption Tesla promises.

[03mustangdude]

Confirmed Nevada 1.2b in tax breaks equals to 10yrs of no taxes and a law that allows them to sell to consumers directly. Still has to pass thru state assembly