NEW JERSEY – Tesla Motors will appeal New Jersey’s decision to stop the electric car maker from selling in the Garden State in two weeks.
Last week Tesla filed a notice to the state appellate division that seeks to overturn state Motor Vehicle Commission rules that require new car dealers to have franchise agreements before they can be licenced. The regulations were implemented last months and halts Tesla from using its direct-sales model.
In the filing, Tesla says the Motor Vehicle Commission was under pressure from the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers, a collective that represents new car dealers, when it amended the regulations.
Tesla sales were supposed to stop in New Jersey on April 1, but an eleventh hour decision by Gov. Chris Christie to extend the deadline to April 15 kept Tesla in the game earlier this week.
Tesla says franchise dealers have a conflict of interest in selling electric vehicles because to sell them properly, they would have to give reasons why electric cars are better than gasoline vehicles, something they are not likely to do since gasoline vehicles are still their cash cow.
Tesla has been selling cars at two New Jersey locations for about two years.
Source: AP
