Tesla wins Mass Directive Massachusetts direct sales ban case



    As was mentioned a week and a half ago on Habré, the Association of US Car Dealers filed lawsuits against Tesla Motors demanding to prohibit the sale of cars through its own centers bypassing car dealers.

    So far, courts in different states have satisfied the requirements of the Association, but the Massachusetts High Court went against the regime: this Monday they ruled in favor of the electric car manufacturer. The court ruled that state law, introduced to protect car dealers from pressure from car manufacturers, does not give the U.S. Car Dealers Association and two state-owned dealers the right to demand Tesla cease direct sales.

    As Judge Margot Botsford stated, the law “protects dealers from dishonest actions of car manufacturers and suppliers working with dealers in the same field” and does not affect the actions of third-party manufacturers. The law prohibits car manufacturers from creating their own dealerships if Massachusetts already has dealers working with manufacturers, but Tesla does not. Thus, the court recognized Tesla's right to further independent sale of cars in this state.

    The association accused Tesla of distributing cars through its own dealership in Natick, Mass., Without a dealership license and in violation of the law prohibiting manufacturers from owning dealerships.

    The representative of the Association, Robert O'Konevsky, was dissatisfied with the verdict and said that the arguments would be reviewed and the case would be appealed.

    Todd Maron, one of Tesla's top lawyers, was very pleased with the court decision: “Similar laws have been passed in many other states. Similar claims have been filed against us right now in New Jersey and other states, and now we can hope that this precedent will be taken into account. ”

    In March of this year, the New Jersey Automobile Committee in court already ordered the closure of two Tesla sales centers, but in June the state general assembly filed a bill that, if passed, would allow the company to continue operations.

    Direct sales of Tesla cars are also currently prohibited in the states of Arizona, Maryland and Texas.

    It should be noted that last week the state of Nevada gave the company permission to direct sales in addition to USD 1.3 billion of tax exemptions under the agreement on the construction of a “gigafactory” of batteries.

    via reuters

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