Texas is trying to prevent Tesla from servicing its cars even in direct sales with car dealerships

Tesla has long had problems selling its cars in Texas because of their direct selling law and lobbying efforts, but the car maker's situation is getting more and more precarious in that state with a new bill that could prevent them from doing the maintenance of their cars. is introduced.

Texas is one of the largest US markets that still completely bans Tesla's direct selling model.

The car dealership lobby uses old laws to prevent automakers from competing with their own franchisees to prevent Tesla from selling their cars directly to consumers, even though Tesla has never had franchisees.

Many see this as a free market problem because car dealerships seem to use the law to protect themselves from competition and create a monopoly.

Tesla has launched several lobbying efforts to change the law over the years, but they have always failed to convince the legislature, which is influenced by the lobby of car dealerships.

Despite this problem, Texans have purchased thousands of Tesla vehicles, which the manufacturer is supplying them from other states to comply with the law.

Tesla has been able to repair these vehicles through its own service centers, which are not subject to the same direct sales rules, but nowadays, dealers even claim Tesla's right to repair its cars.

Republican Senator Kelly Hanbad introduced a new bill (SB 1415) that would ban Tesla from repairing cars through its own service centers if it reaches beyond the legislature.

According to the project, it would come into effect on September 1, 2019.

We contacted Tesla about the situation. A spokesman said he is aware of the bill and is studying it.

Here is the complete draft of the bill:

Electrek's Take

Texas' use of direct selling laws has already been ridiculously abused, but it is pushing it to a new level of stupidity.

If Parliament really approved this bill, it would be extremely disappointing from a political point of view and would be a fatal blow to Tesla and the Tesla owners in Texas.

Texan fans of electric vehicles, or fans of the free market, should contact their local representatives and tell them what you think of this ridiculous attempt to abuse legislation to give a monopoly to franchise dealers who fear fair competition from Tesla and other companies looking to sell and maintain their own vehicles.

While Tesla would be the most affected company at this point, I think other companies, like Rivian, should be involved in the battle here.

What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.