One more time Michigan says no to Tesla direst sales

This is not the first time when Tesla Motors is blocked from selling its electric cars directly to customers in Michigan. Over the past couple of years, Tesla has been engaged in a battle with Michigan’s franchised car dealers who – like dealers in several other states – view Tesla’s direct-sales model as a threat.

Most recently, Tesla submitted an application for a Michigan dealership license. That application was denied by the Michigan government after a hearing earlier this month. This indicates that the home state of Ford, General Motors, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) will stick to its direct-sales ban. That ban was instituted two years ago in response to Tesla’s attempts to sell cars in Michigan.Tesla’s dealership license was denied because the company’s business model of selling cars directly to customers is illegal under Michigan law, according to the state’s final ruling. With encouragement from state auto-dealer groups, legislators in 2014 quietly changed the language of a franchise law to prohibit automakers from selling cars directly to customers. The change involved subtle tweaks to the wording of certain phrases. That included things like changing the phrase “the manufacturer’s new motor vehicle dealers,” to “franchised dealers.” The revised law also removed the word “its” from a reference to a manufacturer’s franchised dealers.

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