The North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) will not allow Tesla Motors to apply for another dealership license in order for them to convert their showroom into a store in the state to sell their cars.
In a report by WFAE 90.7, as per the state law, automakers are not allowed to sell their cars directly to consumers unless it is in the public interest. That is the only exception in North Carolina.
Tesla already has a showroom on East Independence Boulevard in Matthews. The product specialists can talk about the cars of Tesla and provide test drives to interested buyers. Under the state law, Tesla still cannot take orders or deposits at the showroom.
Since the public showed interest in the vehicles sold by Tesla, the Paolo Alto, California-based automaker attempted to open the second store for consumers. However, the state auto dealers association and nearby dealers objected thus the license not being granted. Tesla wanted to convert the showroom in order to avoid having a third-party dealership.
In January, Tesla originally applied for a permission to turn the Matthews showroom into a store. Dealers also objected and DMV held a two-day hearing. DMV hearing officer Larry Green said that Tesla failed to make its case for their brand to be exempted from the law, Electrek reported. Green also decided that three of the four dealers wanting to sell the cars of Tesla are qualified to do so.
Tesla argued that having a third-party dealership model will not work with their business model as the independent dealers make most of their profit from servicing cars. However, electric cars have long-term maintenance and fewer moving parts. This statement was made by Tesla CEO Elon Musk earlier this year, Auto Blog reported. He added that selling an electric car is not the same as selling a gas vehicle that is why they need to run their own stores.
An assistant director of the DMV, Dan Whittacre, said in a statement that Tesla can appeal to the DMV commissioner.
Tesla has not yet released any statement about the matter.
See Now: OnePlus 6: How Different Will It Be From OnePlus 5?