Disingenuous headline and article.
“... other upstart electric vehicle makers such as Rivian, which sells direct to customers online, could also benefit.”
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.
The spin (aka, deception) is heavy-handed but not unexpected from what appears to be a pro-Trump media source. I’m referring to the title/article, not to the bill itself.
I don’t know all the ramifications of direct sales from a vehicle manufacturer replacing the typical car dealership setup. We’ve always bought through a dealer, since we’ve only bought used cars by trading in the cars we had. One of my father’s personal joys was to go car shopping with the intent of bringing a “new” used car home that same day.