Tesla is suing to sell its vehicles, perhaps in a Nordstrom's location, in the State of Michigan.
In a move that came as a surprise to no one, Tesla Motors filed suit against several government officials in Michigan trying to sell its electric vehicles in the Great Lakes State.
The California-based EV maker’s suit named Gov. Rick Snyder, Secretary of State Ruth Johnson and Attorney General Bill Schuette as defendants. State law requires automakers to use a dealer network to sell vehicles. Tesla acts as its own dealer network.
Snyder declined comment on the suit. The company operates in 23 states in the U.S., and in some of those, unleashed its legal team to gain access to those markets. So the maneuver in Michigan wasn’t unexpected.
“Unfortunately, the local auto dealers and local manufacturers have made clear that they oppose any law that would allow Tesla to operate in Michigan,” Tesla’s statement said.
“As one leading legislator told Tesla: the local auto dealers do not want you here. The local manufacturers do not want you here. So you’re not going to be here.”
A Tesla-owned dealer service bay.
The filing in U.S. District Court in Michigan comes after the state rejected the electric vehicle manufacturer’s application to directly sell vehicles to consumers. The filing said the automaker claims it is “entitled to a vehicle dealer license” on an expedited basis.
Tesla said in a statement it filed the suit to ask a judge to strike down a 2014 Michigan law that bars Tesla from selling or repairing vehicles in the state and that for the past two years it has worked to find a legislative solution to the issue.
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The automaker, according to the lawsuit, is seeking to “vindicate its rights under the United States Constitution to sell and service” its vehicles in Michigan.
According to the filing, Tesla seeks a declaratory judgment that Michigan’s ban on direct-sales “violates the Due Process, Equal Protection, and Commerce Clauses of the Constitution as applied to Tesla by prohibiting Tesla from selling its vehicles directly to consumers and by precluding Tesla from performing service and repairs within the State.”
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It seeks a permanent injunction preventing state officials from enforcing the law, including the amendment known as the “anti-Tesla” bill that Snyder signed into law in October 2014. Before the amendment, Tesla believed it had a right to not just open a retail store but a full dealership.
Michigan isn’t the only place Tesla’s found the going tough. Tesla has been unable to get licenses to sell vehicles in three other states: Texas, Connecticut and Utah. In others states, such as New Jersey, there are limits on the number of stores it can operate.
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All U.S. states bar manufacturers with dealers from selling directly to consumers. Auto dealers have lobbied states for several years to bar Tesla from operating or to limit its operations.