The Monday Business Line: Is The Alabama GOP Anti-Business?

  

   The Tesla electric car company has been trying to make an end-run around car dealerships and sell their vehicles directly to you, the customer. 
     In Michigan, home to all of the major car companies (in bankrupt Detroit), both houses of the state legislature have approved bill requiring auto maker to sell through dealerships. The Governor has till Tuesday to sign or veto the legislation.

    
     On the face of it, it would seem that this is a clear cut issue for Republican Lawmakers.      They should be in favor of less regulation, especially laws that protect artificial business practices like the dealership arrangement.


     So it will be interesting to see what stance Alabama's Republican Super-majority Legislature

takes on the issue when it hits the state, as it surly will.
     Here's what the Tesla Vice President of Sales told the website GeekWire about state efforts to block the company:

“We believe firmly that being a good citizen is as important to us as sales and customers. So, what we do, we work with the state, we work with the county, we work with the city and we work with the DMV in every single state where we are open, and we do whatever they say we need to do. So, in Texas, we can’t sell cars. So, we opened up a gallery that looks just like Bellevue, and we fill it with employees, just like in Bellevue. And we have customers come in and ask us all of the same questions, and we answer all the questions for them. We just can’t talk to people about price, and we can’t sell them a car. So, they go to TeslaMotors.com and they buy a car out of California.
So, we believe in being good citizens. If we can’t sell cars in Texas, we will … sell them in California. But the good news, from our standpoint, is that most of the big states — California, New York, Washington, New Jersey, Florida, Illinois — we have licenses. So, it is not an issue. We don’t see it as an issue. Do we wish that it wasn’t happening? Sure. It would be better if it wasn’t happening…. It’s an inconvenience.”

     So, when the issue comes before the Alabama Legislature, with lawmakers side with eliminating roadblocks on Tesla and allowing them to sell their cars direct? Or will they protest the existing dealership structure?

{The Monday Business Line is an occasional feature of Tim Lennox.com. The MMMM will return next week.]