White House responds to Tesla petition, declines to act

Wed, Jul 16 2014

If you've been holding your breath whilst waiting for the White House to respond to the We The People petition asking that Tesla be allowed to sell direct to consumers in all 50 states, you can finally exhale and simultaneously sigh – it has, at last, issued a statement about its intention to not get directly involved in the issue.

Penned by the President's energy and climate change adviser Dan Utech, the official response makes it clear that the administration is in favor of leaving the regulation of vehicle sales in the same ~~capable~~ state-level hands it has traditionally been in. This means Tesla, and any other automaker that wishes to avoid selling vehicles through third-party dealerships, will have to continue to fight for that privilege on a state-by-state basis.

The California electric vehicle company has recently had some success in its battle to continue selling through its own "dealerships." The Pennsylvania five-store compromise has just been signed into law and it recently reached a similar agreement with New York, while New Jersey legislation is also moving along.

For those disappointed by the refusal of the White House to act specifically on this matter, Utech points out that the government is making progress in areas related to decreasing CO2 and increasing fuel mileage. He points out that "new vehicle fuel economy has increased by 12 percent since 2008" and a number of other steps and initiatives. While nice, it's still cold comfort to those who would just like to see an end to the virtual monopoly independent auto dealers have on vehicle sales.

News Source: The White House
Image Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty

Government/Legal
Green
Tesla
Tesla store

By Domenick Yoney