Photo: Catalin Garmacea
Hip hip hooray, another step forward for Tesla Motors and Maryland decided that the carmaker can now operate direct sales in the state.
You could put it like Neil Armstrong and argue "a small state for America, but a big step for Tesla" all you want, but one thing's for sure: Tesla Motors will now sell cars directly to customers in Maryland.
This comes after only last month, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie passed a bill that basically lifted the ban imposed on Tesla’s sales initiative last year.
Long story short, the Maryland General Assembly reversed a similar ban on direct sales. As a result, buyers can now purchase the desired Tesla model online, (almost) just like buying any other product from a website.
The bill has specific terms and conditions, but Tesla fulfilled the requirements and managed to score another small, but important victory: "authorizing a manufacturer or distributor to be licensed as a vehicle dealer if the manufacturer or distributor deals only in electric or nonfossil-fuel burning vehicles, no dealer in the State holds a franchise from the manufacturer or distributor, and the manufacturer or distributor does not have a specified relationship with another manufacturer or distributor licensed as a dealer under the Act."
Until this point, Tesla was only allowed to display cars in Tesla stores and designated "galleries". However, this was more of a "look but do no touch" affair, as customers could only admire the Model S, for example.
Furthermore, Tesla Motors employees were not allowed to approach and engage potential buyers in sales-related conversations. This means price-related questions and other issues could not be clarified, but that changed now.
As a result, Tesla can open up to four Tesla Stores in Maryland but this is just the tip of the iceberg as Elon Musk's company is fighting the same battle everywhere in the US.
This comes after only last month, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie passed a bill that basically lifted the ban imposed on Tesla’s sales initiative last year.
Long story short, the Maryland General Assembly reversed a similar ban on direct sales. As a result, buyers can now purchase the desired Tesla model online, (almost) just like buying any other product from a website.
The bill has specific terms and conditions, but Tesla fulfilled the requirements and managed to score another small, but important victory: "authorizing a manufacturer or distributor to be licensed as a vehicle dealer if the manufacturer or distributor deals only in electric or nonfossil-fuel burning vehicles, no dealer in the State holds a franchise from the manufacturer or distributor, and the manufacturer or distributor does not have a specified relationship with another manufacturer or distributor licensed as a dealer under the Act."
Until this point, Tesla was only allowed to display cars in Tesla stores and designated "galleries". However, this was more of a "look but do no touch" affair, as customers could only admire the Model S, for example.
Furthermore, Tesla Motors employees were not allowed to approach and engage potential buyers in sales-related conversations. This means price-related questions and other issues could not be clarified, but that changed now.
As a result, Tesla can open up to four Tesla Stores in Maryland but this is just the tip of the iceberg as Elon Musk's company is fighting the same battle everywhere in the US.
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