Tesla's relationship in Ohio and New Jersey, among other states, has been a little rocky thanks to its unconventional sales model. While Ohio is still pushing for a direct sales ban, a new bill in New Jersey could let Tesla back in.
In Ohio, Tesla's been given the OK to open a third showroom in addition to the two they already have, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, by a state's senate finance committee. That was an amendment to a bill the same committee is pushing through that would stop companies from selling their cars directly to consumers.
Tesla's existing Ohio outposts would be grandfathered in if this bill passes the state legislature.
Meanwhile in New Jersey, where a move to ban direct sales goes into effect April 1, there's a new bill sponsored by a state assembly democrat to reverse the ban. According to USA Today, Tim Eustace's bill limits direct sales by automakers to electric cars, possibly as a way to temper the dealer lobbies that pushed for the ban in the first place.
Like Texas, there's a very clear reason for some elected officials wanting to reverse direct sales bans prohibiting Teslas from being sold in that state. New Jersey obviously has competition from neighboring states where direct sales are allowed and Eustace says he doesn't want to send that business elsewhere.
Will that argument win over his colleagues?
Photo: Tesla