There’s more than one way to get into a market.
Tesla Motors Inc. hopes to capture mainstream auto buyers with its Model 3, an electric car it [recently unveiled] at a price about the same as the average gasoline-powered vehicle, but it may need a federal court ruling to succeed.
The Palo Alto, Calif., auto maker’s direct-to-consumer sales are prohibited by law in six states that represent about 18% of the U.S. new-car market. Barring a change of heart by those states, Tesla is preparing to make a federal case out of the direct-sales bans.
The auto maker’s legal staff has been studying a 2013 federal appeals court ruling in New Orleans that determined St. Joseph Abbey could sell monk-made coffins to customers without having a funeral director’s license. The case emerged amid a casket shortage after Hurricane Katrina. The abbey had tried to sell coffins, only to find state laws restricted such sales to those licensed by the Louisiana Board of Funeral Directors.
For now, Tesla is banking on a combination of new legislation, pending dealer applications and other factors to open doors to selling directly in Arizona, Michigan, Texas, Connecticut, Utah and West Virginia. But the company said it is ready to argue in federal court using the coffin case if necessary.
“It is widely accepted that laws that have a protectionist motivation or effect are not proper,” Todd Maron, the auto maker’s chief counsel, said in an interview. “Tesla is committed to not being foreclosed from operating in the states it desires to operate in, and all options are on the table.”
The ruling in favor of the monks, upheld by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, could give Tesla the precedent it needs to join an “economic liberty” issue currently in dispute between circuit courts in the U.S., Northwestern University law professor John McGinnis said. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals, for instance, has upheld laws that require licensing to sell certain products even if there isn’t a clear reason for it other than protecting existing businesses from new competition.
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Auto dealers are battle-tested and have notched a series of victories along the way. Earlier this year, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals refused to hear a case brought by auto makers that wanted to change laws using a similar constitutional challenge and involving warranty reimbursement levels.
Tesla could find powerful allies. The Federal Trade Commission has repeatedly said franchise laws are anti-competitive. Other organizations agree.
As we know, Tesla has tried and tried again to get a bill passed in the Lege to allow them to operate in their dealerless model, with no luck. I’m sure they’ll be back again next year, but in the meantime it can’t hurt for them to have a Plan B, especially if it solves the same problem for them in other states as well. We’ll see how this goes.