Posted on 06/17/2023 11:27:42 AM PDT by SoConPubbie
Ron DeSantis has signed a law banning automakers from selling cars direct to consumers in Florida – but it contains a carve-out that will benefit his political backer Elon Musk and his Tesla company.
House Bill 637 requires most automakers to sell to Floridians through third-party car dealers, who sometimes add exorbitant markups to vehicles’ sales tags.
Drafted by lobbyists for dealers, who have made substantial donations to DeSantis, the law could have been a big blow to Tesla owner Elon Musk, who hosted his glitchy presidential campaign launch on Twitter.
Tesla cuts out the middleman by operating its own dealerships. Forcing it to use third-party franchises would have undermined its business model.
Conveniently for Musk, however, language was added to the new law exempting automakers without existing franchise agreements from its requirements. While Tesla is the chief beneficiary of the carve-out, other upstart electric vehicle makers such as Rivian, which sells direct to customers online, could also benefit.
Disingenuous headline and article.
“... other upstart electric vehicle makers such as Rivian, which sells direct to customers online, could also benefit.”
If the article is accurate, this is a huge strike against DeSantis. I suppose someone somewhere could come up with a reason why this law is a good law.
No matter. This law restricts a consumer’s freedom to choose. And the key word there is “freedom”.
I don’t know that such a law would be upheld in court... what business is it of the state in ‘permitting’ any manufacturer from selling its wares?
DeSantis plan to clean up favoritism and corruption?
A squeaky clean guy with no baggage compared to Trump??
A new video
Only fools.....
I agree. If the manufacturer wants to sell directly to consumers, let them. It's not the government's place to restrict them.
The usual Trump-cult garbage. The whole country has a similar law to Florida’s.
I agree with you that a law prohibiting direct-to-consumer sales of cars shouldn’t be legal (and is a bad idea), but there are many other states that already have such a law on the books.
I don’t know if these laws have ever been tested in Federal court.
How the hell is this legal in any way, shape, or form?????
DeSantis is becoming train wreck
This whole law is a mistake.
Not fair. If Tesla is allowed to “cut out the middleman,” then all car companies should be allowed to “cut out the middlemen.
Bookmark
“DeSantis Exempts Elon Musk’s Tesla from Florida Car Sales Law”
special favors for “special” constituents: par for the course by a par-for-the-course politician ...
“But the whole Country didn’t undertake a fight (rightly so) with Disney in which DeSantis decried the advantages that Disney had over other theme parks.”
That’s a good point - Trump could BLAST him on that alone...assuming Trump even sees a need, at this point, to worry about him.
Of course you are wrong https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/laws-in-all-50-states-benefit-car-dealerships-at-the-expense-of-consumers
Absolutely nothing disingenuous about it.
Musk is building stuff all over Florida and DeSantis is taking care of him.
Rivian....https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rivian-layoffs-electric-rj-scaringe-email/ company is nothing but a scam and a scourge on the landscape.
https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/1/23581642/rivian-layoff-ev-workers-employees-price-cut
As for Tesla, Musk and DeSantis...it wasn’t all DeSantis but, like everything else in Florida, he does it all..Governor, cop, fireman, truck driver, carpenter, equipment operator, electrician, boat captain, etc etc etc etc etc
from the article...while everyone else has to play by one set of rules, Musk gets his own:
Tesla — A bill (HB 637) that went the distance this Session at one point would have unraveled part of the business model that helped Tesla become the top-selling electric vehicle company in the United States. Unlike other car companies, which sell through franchise dealerships, the relatively new-to-the-biz manufacturer relies on direct-to-consumer sales. That put them potentially on the losing end of the Florida Automobile Dealers Association’s plan to block Motor City outfits from adopting the same approach, which would devastate an important cog in the state economy. Capital Alliance Group’s Biehl and Sharkey once again came up big for their client by engaging directly with FADA and hammering out a deal adding language to the bill confirming manufacturers are authorized to hold a franchise dealer license for direct-to-consumer sales of EV’s if the manufacturer is not prohibited under Florida law. If the jargon threw you for a loop, the only thing you need to know is that both sides are walking away happy, and your local Tesla gallery isn’t going anywhere.
Crony capitalism. Should fit right in with the DC crowd
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