Tesla Sales Banned in New Jersey... hopefully not for long!

[apvbguy]

Tesla probably could ultimately take this to the Supreme Court and wipe out dealer franchise laws across the board on the basis of Interstate Commerce. H

this is probably true.
however you need to realize that tesla or any other aggrieved party just doesn't get to walk in and have their case heard by the supreme court.
there is a very long and deliberate route to get to the point where the supremes would even accept the case.
the last 10 decades of precedent of the franchise system for selling cars is not going to be easy to overturn regardless of how egregious the system appears to be today

 

[ecarfan]

Something weird happened to the link in your post. The link should be North Carolina's Threat To Tesla Likely Unconstitutional - Forbes

 

[apvbguy]

Any other car maker could do what Tesla is doing. They just have to get rid of their franchises.

I don't think that you get it, these laws are in place to PROTECT THE FRANCHISES. I am going to guess that gm and the other manufacturers wouldn't be against going with ditching the independent dealers and sell direct.

 

[ggies07]

The piece on Fast Money just now was spot on. Phil Lebeau clearly stated that the franchise laws are to protect the franchises from a manufacturer from selling directly but since Tesla doesnt have any franchises, they arent hurting anyone which makes the law not pertain to them.

Its like preventing me from having my own burger joint because its not fair to McDonalds franchises owners.

I dont understand what they think isnt "fair" about it. What advantages do Tesla stores have?

Im so glad to have a person like Phil who was apprehensive about EVs at first, research them, understand the benefits, and then be able to use CNBC to get the general public aware of the situations and EVs. People like my grandfather sit around all day watching that show and I can talk to him all I want about what's going on, but it's nice to see it coming from a public business news outlet.

 

[NigelM]

Im so glad to have a person like Phil .... be able to use MSNBC ... a public business news outlet.

I think you mean CNBC

 

[ckessel]

I don't think that you get it, these laws are in place to PROTECT THE FRANCHISES. I am going to guess that gm and the other manufacturers wouldn't be against going with ditching the independent dealers and sell direct.

The sarcasm in my post was apparently completely lost.

 

[ggies07]

I think you mean CNBC

Ah yes. Thank you. Has been corrected.

 

[electrictorque]

Could a store like Best buy become a Tesla franchise?

 

[Jason_T]

NJ (ugh..)

just a few days ago i ordered s85 to be delivered in july. now, nj is completely banned tesla from direct-to-consumer sales. i have a few questions and dont know where to ask. please help!


1. what will happen to my order? will i still be able to take delivery in nj?
2. what will happen to service center(s) in nj? where can i service my car in the future?
3. do i now have to pay sales tax? (it was 0% sales tax on tesla)


thanks!

 

[FlasherZ]

[email protected] will be your definitive answer source.

Speculation on other items - my guess is that they will perform Texas-style delivery to you, that the service centers are still ok there (the only regulation was barring the sale of the automobile), and as for sales tax, I don't know the law there. Illinois requires sales tax be paid when the car is registered, with offset if you paid sales tax somewhere else.

 

[brandonmbeard]

"Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope...build(ing) a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” - RFK


No one said this would be easy. Easy wouldn’t fun and easy would’t be profitable. Tesla is not about doing things easy, but doing things right! Car dealerships are threatened, they should be! They have become complacent with the limitation of innovation in the business. They have been protected and insulated against revolutionary ideas, which has allowed them to function nearly the same as they had 50 years ago.


Disruption is all around us. Apple with the iPod and iTunes, effectively KILLED the record store. Netflix and RedBox KILLED the video store. Do I think Tesla will kill the auto dealer – YES. The funny thing about auto dealers is they claim to protect the consumer from the manufacturer Seriously, if the manufacturer was that bad why would I buy their product? Dealers basically ensure that you are never going to get a fair price for the product because everyone pays a different price. All the consumer wants is a fair deal and quality product. Tesla ensures this by controlling the sales process and the service process. And as it appears the public cannot get enough, for every vehicle that is sold I hear about 200x more “when the model e comes out I’m game”. The public wants the product, the buyers love the experience. Stopping sales in NJ won’t do a thing, just like stopping test drives in Ohio. Tesla is small and nimble and can always figure out a way to satisfy demand.


In every revolution change is inevitable. The only question is how much is it going to cost. Dealers are going to spend an exorbitant amount of money trying to protect their way of life, while Tesla is just going to keep doing what it does best. Challenging the status quo, building quality products and gaining mass adoption.

 

[kishdude]

Can someone please explain the real impact of this on the people of NJ? Supposedly Arizona where I live is also one of those states that bans "direct sales" but I really don't see the actual effect. I mean, they have a show room in Scottsdale, I can view the car, talk to sales people, test drive the car. The only thing I can't do is order the car directly with them and I have to go to the website to order it which is what everyone does anyway. Also, they have a service center in Phoenix and have had no problem getting service. Also, when the car is delivered, it is delivered by a third party carrier, but really I view this as a minor inconvenience and definitely not something to deter me from buying a Tesla. Is the situation in NJ different than AZ? Am I missing something?

Here are my specific questions:
Will Tesla still be able to have service centers in NJ?
Will Tesla still be able to have showrooms in NJ that can offer test drives but can't actually sell the cars? If not how come this is OK in AZ?
If a person in NJ wants to buy a Tesla, what will the process be?
What I'm getting at here is what is the real change that has happened to Tesla customers in NJ as a result of this legislation?

 

[apvbguy]

The sarcasm in my post was apparently completely lost.

I'm sorry I didn't get it, inflection is hard discern using this form of communication

 

[EnergyMax]

Can someone please explain the real impact of this on the people of NJ? Supposedly Arizona where I live is also one of those states that bans "direct sales" but I really don't see the actual effect. I mean, they have a show room in Scottsdale, I can view the car, talk to sales people, test drive the car. The only thing I can't do is order the car directly with them and I have to go to the website to order it which is what everyone does anyway. Also, they have a service center in Phoenix and have had no problem getting service. Also, when the car is delivered, it is delivered by a third party carrier, but really I view this as a minor inconvenience and definitely not something to deter me from buying a Tesla. Is the situation in NJ different than AZ? Am I missing something?

Here are my specific questions:
Will Tesla still be able to have service centers in NJ?
Will Tesla still be able to have showrooms in NJ that can offer test drives but can't actually sell the cars? If not how come this is OK in AZ?
If a person in NJ wants to buy a Tesla, what will the process be?
What I'm getting at here is what is the real change that has happened to Tesla customers in NJ as a result of this legislation?

Good questions.

I can't wait to see the dealers try to ban internet sales. I'm sure they really want to. There's some analogy to a briar patch here.

 

[apvbguy]

Could a store like Best buy become a Tesla franchise?

in theory yes, but Tesla seems not to be open to having franchisees

 

[ggies07]

Could a store like Best buy become a Tesla franchise?

That would be hilarious though to tell my daughter I used to go to that store to buy cds and now they sell EVs. Hahaha.

 

[NigelM]

just a few days ago i ordered s85 to be delivered in july. now, nj is completely banned tesla from direct-to-consumer sales. i have a few questions and dont know where to ask. please help!


1. what will happen to my order? will i still be able to take delivery in nj?
2. what will happen to service center(s) in nj? where can i service my car in the future?
3. do i now have to pay sales tax? (it was 0% sales tax on tesla)

thanks!

There are some helpful comments this thread: Tesla-Sales-Banned-in-New-Jersey/page27#post603407 and you might find it useful to search that thread for more info (use the 'search thread' function in the grey line, right side, just above the first post on every page).

Also, here's the official Tesla page on the Texas situation: teslamotors.com/advocacy_texas

Finally, call your local store in NJ; they must be putting plans in place already.

 

[apvbguy]

just a few days ago i ordered s85 to be delivered in july. now, nj is completely banned tesla from direct-to-consumer sales. i have a few questions and dont know where to ask. please help!


1. what will happen to my order? will i still be able to take delivery in nj?
2. what will happen to service center(s) in nj? where can i service my car in the future?
3. do i now have to pay sales tax? (it was 0% sales tax on tesla)
thanks!

I will try to help.
I am hoping to complete the process by taking delivery in NJ on 3/31, I am basing the answers on what my DS related to me yesterday. you need to realize that these answers have a shelf life of about 1 second after you read them.
for #1 you should be able to take delivery of your car in NJ
#2 I have no answer, I will assume that since this was a SALES issue that tesla will be able to service their cars in NJ, however that is pure speculation on my part.
#3 regardless of where you purchase your car, the sales taxes will be collected by the state where you reside in and or register the vehicle, so have no worries nothing should change for you.

- - - Updated - - -

just how the car is delivered. it should be delivered by a 3rd party company.

as per my DS, this is wrong, my delivery will as of today be taking place in their springfield NJ SC

 

[tslas]

I talked to my Sales advisor

1. Possibly yes, Otherwise You will go to NY
2. Service Centers are not affected
3. No, you don't have to pay sales tax.

just a few days ago i ordered s85 to be delivered in july. now, nj is completely banned tesla from direct-to-consumer sales. i have a few questions and dont know where to ask. please help!


1. what will happen to my order? will i still be able to take delivery in nj?
2. what will happen to service center(s) in nj? where can i service my car in the future?
3. do i now have to pay sales tax? (it was 0% sales tax on tesla)


thanks!

 

[Nichen]

Someone should call Chris Paine and ask him to do a 3rd movie. So far we got: 1. "Who killed the electric car?" 2. "Revenge of the electric car" 3. How about: "The fight against electric cars". Seriously guys we can't let them crush our Tesla-dreams. Let the mainstream people know about this ugly truth.