

Tesla: almost at 100000 votes - lelf

From Tesla e-mail:<p>As you may know, Tesla is under attack from a number of car dealer associations in various states who are challenging Tesla&#x27;s right to directly serve our customers at Tesla Stores and Service Centers.<p>Their efforts are protectionist in nature and infringe on the right of the consumer to choose how they purchase and service their vehicle.<p>An anonymous Tesla enthusiast created a White House petition to allow direct sales of cars to consumers in all states. We want to thank the tens of thousands of fans who have voiced their support and have already signed the petition.<p>We want this petition to succeed. For that to happen, the petition needs 15,000 more signatures by Friday, July 5, 2013.<p>Please act now and take a moment to register, sign and forward the petition today!<p>https:&#x2F;&#x2F;petitions.whitehouse.gov&#x2F;petition&#x2F;allow-tesla-motors-sell-directly-consumers-all-50-states&#x2F;bFN7NHQR
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MichaelApproved
Clickable link [https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/allow-tesla-
motors...](https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/allow-tesla-motors-sell-
directly-consumers-all-50-states/bFN7NHQR)

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swamp40
Funny: I read this as Tesla: almost at 100000 volts.

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mrt0mat0
i think it's hilarious that we tell other countries that we're a free market
but clearly we're not if you have to ask law makers to allow you to do
business.

~~~
_pmf_
> i think it's hilarious that we tell other countries that we're a free market
> but clearly we're not if you have to ask law makers to allow you to do
> business.

As a citizen of a backwards, non-free socialist European country, yes, it is.

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pschastain
Already signed it, but thanks for putting it back on the radar; it's an
important issue that needs to be addressed.

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neonhomer
I understand and agree with the reason behind the petition, but ultimately
this is a state issue, not a federal one. So i wouldn't see this petition
really doing anything meaningful. It's the whole basis of the 10 amendment.

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DiabloD3
Its a federal issue, actually. There is a law on the books that tries to
"regulate" the car industry by forcing them to have "independant local
businesses" as "frnachised dealers".

The franchised dealership model is a failure, the dealerships cant do anything
on their own initiative else they may lose the frnachise, and all they do is
make it harder for the consumer to make an informed choice on a car purchase,
and drives the cost up as well.

States COULD try to override the dealership laws (many states have laws that
strengthen the Federal one), but thats like trying to herd cats.

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brownbat
I don't believe that's the case, can you cite the federal law in question?

I've read the FTC Commissioner's report on state laws here, and an economic
analysis report that both cite state lawmakers as the responsible parties:

1\.
[http://www.ftc.gov/speeches/leary/learystateautodealer.shtm](http://www.ftc.gov/speeches/leary/learystateautodealer.shtm)

2\.
[http://www.justice.gov/atr/public/eag/246374.htm](http://www.justice.gov/atr/public/eag/246374.htm)

Arizona goes farther, apparently has a law that basically prevents
manufacturers from releasing any information which might hurt the negotiating
position of dealers. Needless to say, it's being challenged in court. Alliance
of Auto Manufacturers v. Hull No. CIV 00-1324-PHX-PGR (D. Ariz. Apr. 30,
2001).

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Achshar
Is this posted somewhere else too? Or HN had 7k votes in one hour? It's an
impressive turnout.

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vnchr
It made the front page of Reddit shortly after that. I'd imagine several tech
news outlets followed with reports, drawing more attention.

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stfu
On another board I would usually respond to something like this with "not your
personal army"...

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DiabloD3
And you would be downvoted on Reddit as well. Tesla is a distruption success
story that can be repeated by other companies, and the only thing holding them
back is out of date government lack-of-regulation.

Regulation merely means to make regular, and this "regulation" makes it so
only the biggest and richest car companies be able to sell cars under the
guise of "franchised dealerships that are local businesses", that really have
very little ability to operate as an independent business.

The laws reguarding dealerships only drive prices up by forcing the existence
of a middle man whos only job is to represent the interests of Detroit
(ironic, seeing as our cars are made in China and Mexico now, instead of in
the US).

tl;dr: Tesla may make cars, but they are the kind of disruption Silicon Valley
yerns for.

~~~
brownbat
I feel like the political parties both tend to focus on federal regulations as
a source of harm or vehicle for change.

The state and local regulations, those are where all the heavy lifting is
done. There's some utter nonsense there, all brought to you by the parties'
respective farm teams.

EDIT: Put another way, I'm a left-leaning moderate, but shit like this makes
me want to beatify John Galt.

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ohwp
Funny: automobile dealers response?:
[https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/shutdown-
petitions...](https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/shutdown-
petitionswhitehousegov/r5Wbx5hx)

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DiabloD3
Thanks for pointing that out, I've flagged that as inappropriate. Lets hope
the WH removes it.

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C1D
Everything stated in the petition is true. The site is basically a way to
convince people that the president gives a damn about the American People.

They only reply to the useless petitons and not the real issues like the
Snowden Pardon Petiton or Aaron Swartz one.

~~~
bguthrie
I agree, though other petitions can be effective. If you care about a cause,
place your signature on a petition hosted with an organization that will
tirelessly advocate for that cause. Organizations in turn live and die by
their ability to gather and show support for the causes they fight.

If there's anything techies should've learned from the SOPA battle, it's that
it is possible to make political change when enough people speak out. If you
haven't watched aaronsw's talk on stopping SOPA, it's well worth your time.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgh2dFngFsg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgh2dFngFsg)

