Tesla brings the lobbyists

Nothin’ but good times ahead if you’re a Republican-connected lobbyist, thanks to Tesla and the auto dealers.

Locked in a brawl with auto dealers, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk is unleashing some of the most powerful lobbyists and consultants in the state to persuade lawmakers to make it easier for his company to sell electric cars in Texas.

Ahead of the legislative session, Musk has assembled an all-star team of politically well connected forces at the Capitol – almost all entrenched with top Republican leaders – to lay the groundwork for a full Tesla blitz come January.

Musk, the California billionaire who also heads the rocket company SpaceX, is pressing the Legislature to allow Tesla to bypass traditional dealerships and sell cars in Texas through its stores.

An attempt failed last session, as Tesla was squashed by a network of state auto dealers and their own team of well-connected hired guns.

This time, according to lawmakers and lobbyists, Musk has revved up the Tesla influence machine to make sure he doesn’t lose again in Texas.

“Tesla is going to move in force to bring significant resources to this debate this session,” said state Rep. Jason Villalba, a Dallas Republican who last session supported the electric-auto maker’s push. “You’re going to see a lot of pressure on these young new members in the Legislature, a lot of movement on the floor and the backrooms to get people convinced this a good deal for Texas.”

Playing the influence game at the Texas Capitol is nothing new for Musk, who employed a team of lobbyists last session and parachuted into Austin on two occasions to personally push for legislation to help SpaceX and Tesla.

He is set to hit Texas again next month – two days after the legislative session starts – to headline a state transportation forum.

But this time, he’ll be coming back to Texas just months after disappointing state officials with a decision to pass up on the Lone Star State for Tesla’s $5 billion lithium-ion battery plant in favor of Nevada.

And the company’s opponents know it.

“They tried to use the giga­factory as leverage to get their foot in the door, but the gigafactory was never coming to Texas,” said Bill Wolters, president of the Texas Automobile Dealers Association. “I can’t imagine what kind of tale they can spin.”

See here for the background. I’ve compared Tesla’s efforts to those of the microbreweries, but this is where the analogy breaks down, since they never had a phalanx of gold-plated lobbyists at their disposal. Anyone in the vicinity of the Capitol next spring ought to keep an eye out on the sidewalk as you walk around – you may see stray $100 bills lying around. We’ll see whose lobbyists are mightier. PDiddie has more.

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