Tesla Service centers and dealerships now allowed in Vermont

[MikeHawk]

Just found out about this today.... apparently Tesla was blocked from opening a dealership or service center in Vermont. That is, until June 7 2021, when the Governor signed S.47 into law. Hopefully now Tesla will open a dealership or at least a service center in the green mountain state.

ACTION TAKEN BY GOVERNOR PHIL SCOTT ON LEGISLATION - JUNE 7, 2021​

An act relating to motor vehicle manufacturers, dealers, and warranty or service facilities​

Last Recorded Action House 5/21/2021 - Senate Message, signed by Governor June 7, 2021
Montpelier, Vt. - Governor Phil Scott announced action on the following bills, passed by the General Assembly.

Bill Status S.47 (Act 63)

legislature.vermont.gov

‘Tesla bill’ would allow electric car giant to open direct-to-consumer shops in Vermont

Tesla maintains that its high-end electric cars must be sold directly by the company rather than through third-party dealers, the way most cars are sold in the U.S.

vtdigger.org

S.47 has been dubbed the “Tesla bill,” because it would open the door for Tesla, Inc. — the California-based maker of a popular line of high-end electric cars — to run its own shops in Vermont through which it could sell and service vehicles directly.

Besides allowing electric car makers to open consumer-direct stores, the legislation would place those operations under the same regulations that apply to third-party dealers. It would further bar car companies that don’t make electric cars from opening consumer-direct operations.

 

[EdA]

Connecticut and Texas, please take note!

 

[Brando]

side note: perhaps Indians could do a postal box & auto registration (license plates of course).

Lawyer & Judges will love this - court cases for decades ??

another side note: Jeff wants to help and is adding to Amazon Prime EV purchases --- he thinks this is the only way he can get a Roadster or perhaps win one.
[that's a joke, Son]

Tesla demand when they have stores in all 50 states. imagine

 

[MikeHawk]

New "electric automobile dealership" coming to Bedford, NH! In the Bedford town council meeting on Oct 25, the developer said "I have secured a letter of intent with a public company who manufactures electric cars. Unfortunately, I have signed an NDA so I can’t disclose the name, but I think you can all figure that out."

Log into Facebook

Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

l.facebook.com

 

[Tdreamer]

New "electric automobile dealership" coming to Bedford, NH! In the Bedford town council meeting on Oct 25, the developer said "I have secured a letter of intent with a public company who manufactures electric cars. Unfortunately, I have signed an NDA so I can’t disclose the name, but I think you can all figure that out."

Log into Facebook

Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

l.facebook.com

This is being discussed in this TMC thread: Service Center - Bedford NH

 

[MikeHawk]

This is great news... its 3 hours away from my loc in Vermont, but thats a lot better than 4 hours to the very small Albany Service center.

 

[MikeHawk]

Just got a service center "rumor update" from an advisor in Boston: "Just rumors for now. I believe they are going to do NH, VT, then Maine! We are trying to open them within the next year".
So, hopefully by end of 2023, we will have at least one SC in each state in the northeast.

 

[Tdreamer]

Thanks for the update. A candidate location in Bedford NH had already been tentatively identified. I think I’ve heard rumors of South Portland ME as well but have not seen any confirmation of it as yet. No info on a VT location but the radar is on!

 

[bjrosen]

Now You Know posted a video about how terrible Tesla Service is. They live in Westford MA (as do I) so the details are New England specific.

There are way to few Tesla Service Centers, about one for every 6000 cars in New England, far fewer than there are for conventional brands. For people who don't live in Eastern MA the problem is of course much worse because of the distances they have to travel. They give an example of a women who lives in Maine, 3.5 hours away, when she brought her car in they offered her an Uber credit because they don't have loaners. Imagine trying to take an Uber from somewhere North of Portland to Peabody.

These guys are super fanboys, if you've ever watched their channel they normally excuse everything Tesla does. This is only their second negative video, the other is when they tried to take FSD Beta through Lowell. As you would expect, that worked about as well as you would expect which is to say awfully.

 

[FDanforth]

Just found out about this today.... apparently Tesla was blocked from opening a dealership or service center in Vermont. That is, until June 7 2021, when the Governor signed S.47 into law. Hopefully now Tesla will open a dealership or at least a service center in the green mountain state.

ACTION TAKEN BY GOVERNOR PHIL SCOTT ON LEGISLATION - JUNE 7, 2021​

An act relating to motor vehicle manufacturers, dealers, and warranty or service facilities​

Last Recorded Action House 5/21/2021 - Senate Message, signed by Governor June 7, 2021
Montpelier, Vt. - Governor Phil Scott announced action on the following bills, passed by the General Assembly.

Bill Status S.47 (Act 63)

legislature.vermont.gov

‘Tesla bill’ would allow electric car giant to open direct-to-consumer shops in Vermont

Tesla maintains that its high-end electric cars must be sold directly by the company rather than through third-party dealers, the way most cars are sold in the U.S.

vtdigger.org

S.47 has been dubbed the “Tesla bill,” because it would open the door for Tesla, Inc. — the California-based maker of a popular line of high-end electric cars — to run its own shops in Vermont through which it could sell and service vehicles directly.

Besides allowing electric car makers to open consumer-direct stores, the legislation would place those operations under the same regulations that apply to third-party dealers. It would further bar car companies that don’t make electric cars from opening consumer-direct operations.

This news is now 13 months old. Does anyone know of any Tesla plans to open a Vermont Service Center ??

 

[Tdreamer]

I know I've been keeping my eyes open for any signs of permitting, but nothing found yet. Don't have any inside info on when they'll do it, but they may be trying to get NH underway before expanding east and/or west of there.

 

[MikeHawk]

This news is now 13 months old. Does anyone know of any Tesla plans to open a Vermont Service Center ??

Haven't heard a peep, still googling, searching message boards at least monthly. They have 4 service centers/showrooms in Austin, but we aren't on the radar.

 

[MikeHawk]

Hot off the presses! New service tech position hiring in Montpelier!

Could this be an actual service center?

From the job description, it doesn't sound like a mobile tech position, it sounds like an actual service center job.
"Enjoy your company supplied laptop to support diagnostics and provide online training opportunities · Operate a variety of top-of-the-line hand, power and shop tools · Consistently and concisely detail and document repairs · Inspect and maintain shop equipment and request replacement as required · Partner with other teams to ensure delivery of an exceptional product by cleaning and detailing vehicles, as needed · Assist with onboarding and training of new technicians to help upskill the team"

and this gem - "Our Technicians are the heart of every service location and we rely on their expertise in process improvement and in the delivery of the best service and products to our customers."

Service Technician | Tesla Careers

Apply for the Service Technician position in East Montpelier, Vermont.

www.tesla.com

 

[Tdreamer]

I actually noticed this job posting a while ago (like a month or two ago I think). I agree it sounds different than a mobile service position from how it's written. Haven't found any obvious signs of permitting for a service center, but that doesn't mean anything as I don't think they are as easy to spot as EV charging permits.

But it's one job role posted, not a set of jobs that I would *think* might be posted concurrently if a service center were in the wings. Either way, having a service presence up that way of any sort would be a great asset to local owners.

 

[MikeHawk]

I was thinking that slso, it's one single position, which doesn't sound very promising.

I actually applied for the job just to get more info. I mentioned that I could set up their computer network for free if it helps their service center become a reality.

 

[Steve802401]

There’s a public hearing on October 25 of the South Burlington Planning Commission to approve a zoning change for a Tesla service center on Shelburne Road. It would be an adaptive reuse of a former grocery store.

Welcome to South Burlington, Vermont

Welcome to South Burlington, Vermont

www.southburlingtonvt.gov

There’s a Burlington Free Press article on this topic but I don’t have a subscription.

 

[MikeHawk]

Tesla wants to build a car store in S. Burlington; requires zoning change​

https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/money/2022/10/21/tesla-asks-for-zoning-to-build-a-store-in-south-burlington/69579812007/

Tesla wants to put a service center in the abandoned Hannafords behind Burger King on Shelburne road which has been empty since 2018. The area isn't zoned for auto sales or service, so there will be a public hearing on Tues, Oct 25 to rezone the district for this service center. The planning commission does seem to be in favor of Tesla opening up there, so this looks promising. The local car dealerships on Shelburne road might not be so enthusiastic.

The public hearing and vote is on Tues Oct 25 2022 at 7:00 pm in the City Hall Auditorium at 180 Market Street, South Burlington VT.
If it gets approved by the planning commission on Oct 25, it will then go to a city council vote and another public hearing.

 

[MikeHawk]

There’s a public hearing on October 25 of the South Burlington Planning Commission to approve a zoning change for a Tesla service center on Shelburne Road. It would be an adaptive reuse of a former grocery store.

Welcome to South Burlington, Vermont

Welcome to South Burlington, Vermont

www.southburlingtonvt.gov

There’s a Burlington Free Press article on this topic but I don’t have a subscription.

My bad Steve, I didn't see you already posted this!
I paid the $1 for subscription just to read the article. The zoning proposal can be found here https://www.southburlingtonvt.gov/Planning/LDR Amendments/2022-10/LDR-22-07-08 maps and text.pdf
I'm going to email them my support for the upcoming vote.
I'll be at the meeting at 180 Market Street, South Burlington, I hope it passes, it would be a perfect location.

 

[Steve802401]

No problem. Thanks for summarizing the article. I watched the planning commission meeting where the real estate broker for Hannaford spoke briefly. He said it took some doing to get Tesla to agree to reuse an existing building over building new somewhere else. I hope it works out. There was one no vote (not explained as far as I could tell) while the other commissioners were generally supportive. The only concerns being the poorly defined “green business” definition, and the potential for air emissions (would they have a paint shop?) to impact nearby neighborhoods. As another committee member later pointed out, Vermont has a Clean Air Act permitting process for such things.

 

[Steve802401]

No problem. Thanks for summarizing the article. I watched the planning commission meeting where the real estate broker for Hannaford spoke briefly. He said it took some doing to get Tesla to agree to reuse an existing building over building new somewhere else. I hope it works out. There was one no vote (not explained as far as I could tell) while the other commissioners were generally supportive. The only concerns being the poorly defined “green business” definition, and the potential for air emissions (would they have a paint shop?) to impact nearby neighborhoods. As another committee member later pointed out, Vermont has a Clean Air Act permitting process for such things.

During the planning board meeting I mentioned, one of the board members mentioned that a dealership would not pay the local option sales tax. However this appeared to be overridden by the high skill jobs and training provided by Tesla. And, as the broker argued, the options for retail in that location are not great because Hannafords would never let a competitor lease the property.