On March 3, Eastern time, the Commerce Committee of the Oklahoma House of Representatives passed a new 3994 bill banning companies that do not have a dealer license to sell cars, according to local media reports.
In other words, Tesla, who has no dealers and all sells cars on his own, may be forced to withdraw from the Oklahoma market.
The bill clearly stipulates that no car factory or enterprise may sell or lease vehicles at will. Any related transaction can only be carried out through a licensed dealer. At the same time, subsidiaries controlled by car factories shall not apply to become dealers.
The transportation of all new cars must also be handled through dealers and cannot be transported on their own. In addition to cooperating with dealers, car factories must also provide relevant consumer data to dealers "for safety reasons". On the contrary, dealers do not need to cooperate with car manufacturers to provide consumer data.
Part of the bill is as follows:
Curtis Hayes, a member of the Oklahoma Motor vehicle Commission, further explained how the wording of Act 3994 would ensure that electric vehicle manufacturers are regulated by the Motor vehicle Commission:
Regulation will allow Oklahoma consumers to turn to state agencies for help if they encounter problems. Now, if consumers complain, there is nothing the Automobile Commission can do about it, and the only electric car manufacturer we are talking about is Tesla.
All traditional OEM systems that produce electric cars operate through a franchisee system. So we are trying to solve this problem. This is a very complex issue because it has branches across the entire law involving car franchisees, so I can only say that, judging from the work of the Motor vehicle Commission, Congressman Dobrinksi and the Oklahoma Automobile Dealers Association, we are not trying to stop Oklahoma consumers and residents from providing car repair services in Oklahoma.
The bill was strongly opposed by Tesla
The bill was strongly opposed by carmakers, including Tesla.
On February 21st, Tesla was using his "Tesla Engage" community platform to call on people to oppose the bill.
Tesla said the bill would prohibit carmakers like him from operating services and delivering cars in the state. If the bill is passed, even some of its existing stores in the state may be forced to close. More importantly, the bill may also cause Tesla owners in Oklahoma to drive out of state to pick up and repair their vehicles.
Tesla asked people to contact their representatives to let them know that they were opposed to the bill.
The following are Tesla's objections to Oklahoma's Proposition 3994:
House Bill 3994, a harmful bill that could be interpreted as banning electric carmakers like Tesla from serving and delivering cars in Oklahoma, is currently under consideration by members of the House Commerce Committee.
Please contact your representative today and encourage him or her to vote against Bill 3994.
If the bill is passed, Tesla may be forced to close existing stores in Oklahoma and prevent Tesla from delivering cars to anyone in the state. This will force locals to go out of state to repair their cars or take their new Tesla cars. Oklahoma should focus on increasing income and employment in the state, rather than curbing competition and limiting consumer choices.
Using the above tools, please send a message to your state representative and members of the House Commerce Committee to share what this bill means to you and why it is bad for Oklahoma.
Tell them your story as an Oklahoma electric car owner and let them know that you oppose Act 3994.
Let others hear your voice and help prevent the passage of Act 3994. Contact your state representative and the House Commerce Committee today.
To this day, some states still prohibit Tesla and other automakers from selling cars directly to consumers. Because of the introduction of the old law, franchisees are protected from fierce competition. But now these laws are being used to prevent Tesla and other new carmakers that have never had franchised dealers from competing with dealers that sell vehicles from other carmakers.
Several states have changed their direct selling laws to avoid such abuses and give third-party dealers a monopoly on car sales, but some dealers' associations still have great power in state politics to ban direct selling.
Tesla has only one store in Mississippi. In January, the carmaker faced a similar situation in bill 2836 of the state Senate, which Tesla asked people to oppose. For now, the bill seems unlikely to be passed by the Senate Finance Committee.
