Tesla wants to sell directly to consumers

[supe]

This is a tweet from Elon Musk


Elon Musk ‏@elonmusk 33m A @WhiteHouse petition to allow direct sales of cars by manufacturers: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/overturn-franchise-laws-limit-auto-manufacturers-selling-their-vehicles-directly-consumers/rlShbLzr … Please vote here too!

How the hell are car manufacturers not allowed to sell direct to consumers?

[rage2]

Franchise and competition laws.

[supe]

Originally posted by rage2
Franchise and competition laws.

But what is your opinion on it?

[Redlyne_mr2]

Tesla will have to establish a sales and support dep. It may make sense for the low volume of cars that they sell.

[rage2]

My opinion is that it's outdated. But this is a good first step to changing the laws.

[Redlyne_mr2]

Originally posted by rage2
My opinion is that it's outdated. But this is a good first step to changing the laws.

BMW already does it with motorcyles in other parts of the world.

[Graham_A_M]

^ Interesting. Especially for BMW of all companies.

[rage2]

The laws were created to protect car dealers, so that they don't get undercut by the manufacturers, who would LOVE to sell cars direct at retail prices and take a bigger piece of the pie. Even the manufacturer owned corporate stores have to be a separate entity, adhere to fair allocation rules, and follow all the franchising rules for the area it's in.

Problem is, in the last decade, the internet has changed the way business is done, and these laws make less sense for today's economy. So we end up with Tesla who doesn't want to use a traditional dealer sales network, take all the money for themselves, and hitting barriers in trying to redefine the car sales process.

Give it another decade, and we'll laugh at how we used to buy cars from dealers that doesn't provide much value, as they transition to pure service centers.

In my personal experience, however, I do like having a dealer to work with. I've been dealing with the same people for 10 years, so I get a bit of preferrential treatment. I can do stupid stuff such as leaving a deposit and get in line for a rumor'd car, and be first in line to get it once it's announced. If I was buying my Black Series off the internet direct from the manufacturer, I probably wouldn't have even gotten an allocation. Not important enough.