A state court has ruled that Tesla cannot issue itself a franchise to sell vehicles directly to consumers in Missouri, a blow to the electric carmaker that wanted to comport with the state’s franchise requirement without having to sell cars through an independent dealership.
In a suit brought by the Missouri Automobile Dealers Association, a judge ruled that carmakers cannot issue themselves franchises, which means Tesla will have to stick to selling the vehicles online in Missouri if it wishes to continue its practice of not using a man-in-the-middle car dealership.
The dealers’ suit said the state broke the law when it issued a dealer’s license to Tesla of Palo Alto, California. That position was supported last week by Cole County Judge Daniel Green. The decision means Tesla can now only showcase its vehicles at its Kansas City and St. Louis locations. Under the ruling, buyers can’t purchase them there. They have to go online.
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Source: Ars Technica – Sorry Tesla, you can’t issue yourself a dealer franchise, court rules