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GM continues to try to stifle competition

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Full Feb 25 Indiana General Assembly Commerce & Technology Committee discussion of HB1254
Indiana General Assembly HB1254 Feb 25 CTC (Anti-Tesla bill) - YouTube

Full Feb 18 Indiana General Assembly Commerce & Technology Committee discussion of HB1254
Indiana General Assembly HB1254 Feb 18 CTC (Anti-Tesla bill) - YouTube


Links to specific sections:

**Feb 25**

Dealership Association Spokesman
Indiana General Assembly HB1254 Feb 25 CTC (Anti-Tesla bill) - YouTube

GM Spokesman
Indiana General Assembly HB1254 Feb 25 CTC (Anti-Tesla bill) - YouTube

GM Dealer #1
Indiana General Assembly HB1254 Feb 25 CTC (Anti-Tesla bill) - YouTube

GM Dealer #2
Indiana General Assembly HB1254 Feb 25 CTC (Anti-Tesla bill) - YouTube

GM Dealer #3
Indiana General Assembly HB1254 Feb 25 CTC (Anti-Tesla bill) - YouTube

Rep. Mahan
Indiana General Assembly HB1254 Feb 25 CTC (Anti-Tesla bill) - YouTube


**Feb 18**

First 18 minutes are introduction by Sen. Buck (committe chair) and presentation and discussion of the bill by Rep. Mahan and Sen. Kenley

Tesla VP of Regulatory Affairs James Chen
Indiana General Assembly HB1254 Feb 18 CTC (Anti-Tesla bill) - YouTube

Tesla Owner #1
Indiana General Assembly HB1254 Feb 18 CTC (Anti-Tesla bill) - YouTube

Tesla Owner #2
Indiana General Assembly HB1254 Feb 18 CTC (Anti-Tesla bill) - YouTube

Tesla Owner #3
Indiana General Assembly HB1254 Feb 18 CTC (Anti-Tesla bill) - YouTube

Tesla Service Manager
Indiana General Assembly HB1254 Feb 18 CTC (Anti-Tesla bill) - YouTube

Tesla Owner #4
Indiana General Assembly HB1254 Feb 18 CTC (Anti-Tesla bill) - YouTube

Tesla Owner #5
Indiana General Assembly HB1254 Feb 18 CTC (Anti-Tesla bill) - YouTube


Edited to add the previous session so it is all in one place.
 
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Indiana SB72 that was referred to summer study last year.

Motor vehicle manufacturer sales. Urges the legislative council to assign to the appropriate study committee for the 2015 interim the task of studying the sale by a motor vehicle manufacturer of new motor vehicles directly to consumers other than through an independent franchised new motor vehicle dealer that has a physical place of business capable of performing complete warranty service on motor vehicles produced by the manufacturer.

Senate Bill 72 - Motor vehicle manufacturer sales - Indiana General Assembly, 2015 Session

Lanny
 
“I call this the Kill Tesla bill,” said Representative Curt Nisly, a Republican from Goshen, who was at the Jan. 27 hearing. “GM testified in favor of the bill. So did the auto dealers. I didn’t see anyone from Chrysler and Ford. We should be welcoming Tesla to the state of Indiana, not chasing them out. I’d like to see them build their next gigafactory here.”

Tesla Battles GM Over Right to Sell Cars in Indiana - Bloomberg Business


Interesting study supporting that dealerships don't know how to sell EVs.

http://phev.ucdavis.edu/files/Dealer-Study-Brief_Short_2015-4-8.pdf

Thanks for that. I passed it along to a friendly in the General Asssembly.
 
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It's not over, Curt. It's going to Summer Study and will likely be back. I'm gathering info right now on what that means.

Thanks, Bonnie, for bringing this to the attention of so many people, especially those in Indiana who are far from your home. You efforts may have been a significant factor in getting the bill tabled.

Now the trick is to educate the legislators on how established "economic rent-seeking" businesses seek to block the innovative products and business models of their new competitors through the aid of legislation. The game is completely contrary to the American concept of free competitive enterprise. Without the allowance for innovation in products and business models, we would still be transported by horses or own only cars built one at a time by hand.
 
Probably because any fair study always comes out in favor of Tesla and they know this... so they are trying to push this through without people being able to get actual facts.

I have yet to ever see a study, ever. that comes out in favor of the dealership model. Even GM's own "experiment" in South America determined that dealerships add around 8% added cost to the vehicles that wouldn't be there otherwise. So when your own funded study comes out against your business model, of course you don't want anyone else looking behind the curtain either... they will absolutely come to the same conclusion you did... that your business model is terrible for the consumer.

Do you have a source for the GM experiment? I'd love to share it around. The committee meetings and interactions with legislators have made it clear to me that education is the primary fix to this issue. We'll never sway the likes of Mahan and Buck, but the others we have a real shot at.
 
Yes, education needs to be the main approach. However, I also think it makes sense to gather and summarize the information rather than just dump individual articles on representatives (which they likely won't have the time to review in detail).

I think it makes sense to start a wiki on this and we can all work to make the information easy to understand and easy to find. The same wiki can be used for battles in other states (I think it is pretty obvious this is a "war" and we will be seeing similar laws being pushed by GM in other states very soon).
 
Yes, education needs to be the main approach. However, I also think it makes sense to gather and summarize the information rather than just dump individual articles on representatives (which they likely won't have the time to review in detail).

I think it makes sense to start a wiki on this and we can all work to make the information easy to understand and easy to find. The same wiki can be used for battles in other states.

I wholeheartedly agree. I think a palmcard with sources would be ideal. It can be modified slightly depending on each state's history with the dealership model.

In Indiana, GM and other manufactures voluntarily entered into dealership contracts, knowing that it would disqualify them from manufacturer direct sales in those territories. GM chose to pursue that business model, and now they're sour because Tesla chose a different model—both models being legal under Indiana law. GM has realized that it made a mistake, but they don't want to go through the pain of changing their business model, so instead they're using government force to make Tesla change their model.
 
On the subject of whether GM was the creator of this bill, I think we have an answer now:
Tesla has publicly accused GM of being behind the legislation and writing the bill for Mahan. GM offered “input” into the bill, but the author was in charge of the language in the draft, Chris Meagher, a spokesman for the Detroit-based automaker, said in an e-mail.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ral-motors-over-right-to-sell-cars-in-indiana

So they didn't write the exact language, but pretty much they told Mahan the general way to write the bill (and GM likely was the originator, as dealer groups did not come out and take credit for suggesting the idea). That is probably why GM didn't outright deny Tesla's claim, but rather issued a statement in support of the bill.
 
I'm watching this whole GM / Indiana fiasco with great interest. Here in New Mexico we don't even have a single store or service center thanks to the anti-Tesla laws on the books for years. I suspect this GM trickery is going to be tested in other states. I and other Tesla owners in NM are gearing up for a fight later this year and into 2017 to change the NM laws.

The video testimony in Indiana by those in favor of the 1254 amendment was so exasperating... I keep hearing dealers and GM types talk about how "franchises are good for consumers" and yet never back that up with any evidence of it. Franchises are good for the good ol' boys who've owned dealerships for decades. Consumers generally hate dealerships and the whole experience one has to go through when "dealing with" dealerships. My purchase of a Tesla was in a way a deliberate and intentional escape from the dealership world.
 
I keep hearing dealers and GM types talk about how "franchises are good for consumers" and yet never back that up with any evidence of it. Franchises are good for the good ol' boys who've owned dealerships for decades. Consumers generally hate dealerships and the whole experience one has to go through when "dealing with" dealerships. My purchase of a Tesla was in a way a deliberate and intentional escape from the dealership world.

They are diverting with the argument that "The Chinese and Indians are gonna come dump metal on us...driving them all out of business and if we force the Chinese to use the dealership model they can't do that, cause we protect consumers from teh commies." and yes, if you watch, the big dealer dude throws down the communist card as justification, because somehow it's relevant. They also threw down the little league card, implying that dealers are needed to support little league teams. Its so stupid it hurts. Next they will be saying that the dealership model somehow protects us from ISIS.
 
From James Chen, a personal note of thanks to all who have worked to stop this bs (my word, not his) in Indiana:

Thank you for your support this week in making your voices heard about HB 1254. The bill’s provision that would have closed down Tesla’s Indiana operations was removed and instead the issue will be sent to summer study by the Senate's Commerce and Technology committee. As a result, Tesla's store in the Fashion Mall at Keystone will remain open indefinitely. Test drives and the opportunity to purchase will continue to be made available to Indiana customers and we will continue to do everything we can to provide the best possible service.

We will continue to keep you apprised of updates and progress. We have avoided being closed out of Indiana thanks in large part to you!

















 
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As a member of the media here, I wrote a Facebook note to the Indiana "author" of the bill and asked during a week where we lost Carrier to Mexico, are you really going to force a company here to leave and not invest in the planned service center? Every note helps.
 
You know you might be on the wrong side when you have to use prepared statements because you're scared of the media (and actually admit this), and you don't even have a small group of customers show up to support you.

Also interesting they are concerned about taking a Tesla trade-in. Plenty of dealers have done so, and it gets treated like most other vehicles (goes to auction, or resold on the lot).

And is driving an unregistered vehicle in Indiana that common? Especially with the typical buyer of a Model S?

I also wish one of those committee members invited GM to set up a direct sales program. They all want to level the playing field. Why not level up, instead of Tesla leveling down?
 
Re the concern over taking a Tesla trade in because they're not prepared to service - they're also not prepared to service a BMW, since they do't have the diagnostic software to do that, either. But somehow that didn't get mentioned.

Re how many people dealerships employ - no dealership loss of jobs in California. Still here and thriving, right alongside those Tesla stores and service centers that also employ locals.

Re loss of fees for unregistered vehicles - when delivered lawfully within the state (like in California), the delivery specialist collects the fees and fills out the paperwork (like in California). It's when they force Indiana residents to head to another state to purchase a Tesla that they should worry over losing sales tax or other fees.

Re worry that China will dump cars in Indiana if not coming through dealerships - not happening in California. Why? Last I heard, we still had an active US Customs at our ports.

And so much more. The lack of critical thinking just floors me.
 
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Plus try getting a Ford Focus Electric, or Nissan LEAF serviced (or buy for that matter). Many dealers won't even touch it, and there have been cases where a dealer lost its only LEAF certified mechanic, so the local LEAF owners couldn't even get their vehicle serviced (and were too far away from the next dealer)!