nosuchthing
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2010
- Messages
- 740
I wonder if Car and Driver knows that it's a "photochop."
Over time, car dealerships became crucial sources of employment and tax revenue for local communities. To prevent manufacturers from opening their own stores and undercutting neighborhood dealers, states developed laws governing the franchise relationship. Bottom line: Carmakers had to leave their retail sales to someone else.
According to the National Automobile Dealers Assn., 48 states either prohibit or in some way restrict automakers from owning sales facilities.
Still, laws in most states do allow automakers to open their own stores if they don't have an existing dealer network. That's why "Tesla is more likely than not to prevail," Jacoby said.
Dealers aren't conceding. Last week, the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Assn. and a dealer in the region sued Tesla and the New York Department of Motor Vehicles, alleging that they violated state franchise laws when Tesla opened a store in Westchester, N.Y., in late May.
Additionally, the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Assn. is seeking a preliminary injunction to close Tesla's store in suburban Boston. The legal actions were first reported by the trade journal Automotive News.
Musk said the lawsuits, "are starkly contrary to the spirit and the letter of the law," adding that the plaintiffs "will have considerable difficulty explaining to the court why Tesla opening a store in Boston is somehow contrary to the best interests of fair commerce or the public."
Tesla has no existing dealers who have risked their own money building showrooms and marketing the brand. Therefore, Musk said, there are no franchisees "anywhere in the world that will be harmed by us opening stores."
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