Auto Dealers Lobby To Close Oklahoma Tesla Service Center
Auto dealers are lobbying to close down a Tesla service center in Oklahoma. I was alerted to this by Tesla owner, Priscilla Sanstead, who tagged me and Sawyer Merritt in a post sharing a screenshot of an email from Tesla’s policy team about the situation.
Oklahoma legacy auto dealers want to shut down our OK Tesla Service Center – owners just got this letter – some say it won't even get a hearing? @SawyerMerritt @JohnnaCrider1 pic.twitter.com/yFlTrKFXfK
— Priscilla Sanstead (@pbsanstead) February 21, 2022
The email reads:
“House Bill 3994 is being considered by the Oklahoma State Legislature. As written, this bill could be interpreted as forcing Tesla to close our service center and gallery locations in Oklahoma as well as prohibiting us from delivering any new Teslas to customers in the state. Tesla locations bring new jobs and revenue to the state while serving the needs of our current and future Oklahoma vehicle owners.
“Please contact your State Representatives and the members of the House Business and Commerce Committee to let them know you oppose HB 3994. Let your legislators know that residents of Oklahoma deserve to have their EVs serviced and delivered within their home state.”
The bill was introduced on January 20, 2022, and states:
“It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, association, corporation or trust to engage in business as, or serve in the capacity of, or act as a motor vehicle dealer or manufacturer or distributor of new motor vehicles, or factory branch, distributor branch or factory representative or distributor representative, as such defined in Section 562 of this title, in this state without first obtaining a license therefor as provided for by law.
“Any person, firm, association, corporation or trust engaging in more than one of such capacities or having more than one place where such business is carried on or conducted shall be required to obtain and hold a current license for each thereof. Provided that, a new motor vehicle dealer’s license shall authorize one person to sell in the event such person shall be the owner of a proprietorship, or the person designated as principal in the dealer’s franchise or the managing officer or one partner if no principal person is named in the franchise. It is further provided that a factory or an entity affiliated by any ownership or control by the factory shall not be permitted to be licensed as a motor vehicle dealer.”
This isn’t the first time auto dealers have taken an anti-Tesla and anti-EV stance, and probably won’t be the last. Auto dealers lobby quite often against Tesla and other EV manufacturers. They often takes these stances against electric vehicles because they know they simply cannot compete with Tesla, Rivian, or any other auto manufacturer that sells directly to its customers.
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