FTC Rules In Favor Of Tesla, Direct-To-Consumer Sales Legal

[silberdrachi]

 

The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) new ruling prevents dealers from having a monopoly of the sale of vehicles. It argues that this was not only done in favor of Tesla but in defense of all business entities who desire to sell their products directly. In their public statement, the FTC asserts “blanket prohibitions on direct manufacturer sales to consumers are an anomaly within the larger economy.” The impetus for FTC’s statement is that Michigan State Legislature allowed Elio, a manufacturer of highly efficient three-wheelers, to sell direct. With this amount of inconsistency circulating among state lawmakers and courts, the FTC needed to step in and create a more universal policy.

 

Great news, and hopefully forces some states to change their rules banning direct to consumer sales (including my home state Michigan). It seems like the FTC has seen through the bullshit that auto companies are feeding state lawmakers to say and maybe in the future will come up with some federal requirements on direct to consumer sales.

 

Edit: I should make clear, this doesnt actually nullify the laws already in place, but does give them good legal standing to challenge the laws in the future.

 

Source: http://techdrive.co/FTC-Tesla

Second Source: http://www.freep.com/story/money/business/2015/05/12/federal-trade-commission-tesla-michigan-law-dealers-auto-sales/27163961/

[Master Disaster]

Yet another legal precedent that should never have been tested in court.

Only in America do you need to prove its legal to sell stuff directly to consumers.

Still, I guess the men with the powahz and moniez will still try and stop them in some other way.

[kainobean]

wooooooooo all i am getting from this is michigan might finaly get a telsa show room.... im litterly splurging in my pants riohgt now and cant wait to walk into one and attempt to buy one

[silberdrachi]

wooooooooo all i am getting from this is michigan might finaly get a telsa show room.... im litterly splurging in my pants riohgt now and cant wait to walk into one and attempt to buy one

 

Id love for tesla to get a show room here, but even if they did i know i could never buy one. It will be a cold day in hell (no not hell michigan, we hear that joke all the time) before electric chargers are common enough around here to actually drive one as a main car. It doesnt help i live in an apartment and i would have to find a way to charge from home if i cant charge at work/elsewhere.

[ivan134]

I'm waiting for the typical morons to come and tell us how this is govt overreach.

[Trik'Stari]

I'm waiting for the typical morons to come and tell us how this is govt overreach.

Who do you think gets paid to create laws preventing direct to consumer sales? Or allowing mergers between corporations eliminating competition? Or not filing anti-trust investigations against companies that refuse to overbuild into each others areas?

 

They call it "lobbying", but what it really is, is bribery. Corporations need to be banned from making political donations.