Despite the fact that Gov. Rick Snyder marked regulation in late 2014, which forbids the company's way of straightforwardly offering vehicles to clients, Tesla Motors Inc. has proposed for licenses to sell as well as provide services its high-end electric cars in Michigan.
As stated in Detroit News, the applications submission to the Michigan Secretary of State Office was done in November by the Palo Alto, California-based carmaker. According to Fred Woodham, the Secretary of State spokesman, the applications are being examined by the department. The decision is expected to be made in the next month or two.
The company is going to registered trade new and used cars under "Class A" dealership license. This license class requires facilities for services as a component of their business or has an association with an authorized repair facility.
Tesla could start marketing and purchasing vehicles when the Secretary of State endorses the application. If not approved, the company cannot avoid claims over state laws, which do not allow direct selling.
A Tesla spokesperson stated via email, "Submission of the application is intended to seek the Secretary of State's confirmation of this prohibition. Once confirmed, Tesla will review any options available to overturn this anti-consumer law."
According to Road and Track, the electric automaker has struggled to get the license to trade its cars in numerous different states, yet Michigan has been one of the hardest towards permitting a direct sales model. It even continues further through rewritten dealership laws in order to prevent Tesla from selling cars there.
Dealers cartels have been said to have the control, including the Michigan Automobile Dealers Association and General Motor, who initiated the signing by Governor Rick Snyder to keep Tesla away from his state. Tesla sees that those laws will stay not for a short time, so it starts to shift its strategy to open "a law-abiding franchise dealership owned and operated by a party independent from the automaker".
The Federal Trade Commission shared their support for Tesla by saying, "Consumers may benefit from the ability to buy cars directly from manufacturers-whether they are shopping for luxury cars or economy vehicles. The same competition principles should apply in either case."
Consumerist mentioned that the FTC sent a letter to the state's policymakers, asking them to consider revoking the restriction. The commission has also stated that customers are the ones who best decide what vehicles they are about to purchase and how they will purchase them.
There are now 400 Tesla's clients in Michigan. Its small existence can be seen through Tesla Tool and Die Factory bought a year ago, and four charging stations in the state.
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