Business & Tech
Petition Urging Obama to Support Tesla Motors Garners 101K Signatures
Petition signers argue that Tesla is providing competition in the automobile industry, which is good for consumers.
Written by Bay City News
More 100,000 people have signed an online petition urgingĀ President Obama to oppose efforts by states to block Palo Alto-based TeslaĀ Motors from selling its electric cars directly to consumers, a companyĀ spokeswoman said today.
The White House petition drive, started by an anonymous TeslaĀ supporter on June 5, had 101,000 signatures as of today, beyond its goal ofĀ 100,000 byĀ Friday, spokeswoman Alexis Georgeson said.
Only 5,000 had signed the petition as of last Tuesday but a surgeĀ of signers came in after Tesla sent out an email blast to its customersĀ calling for signatures, Georgeson said.
The 100,000-signature threshold is the minimum required within 30Ā days to warrant a response from President Obama under the terms of his "WeĀ the People" online petitions atĀ whitehouse.gov, Georgeson said.
"The White House will take it under advisement and prepare aĀ response," Georgeson said.
The online signature drive comes as some states have consideredĀ legislation advocated by auto dealers to prevent Tesla from marketing cars inĀ its stores instead of conventional dealerships, Georgeson said.
The petition's message reads: "States should not be allowed toĀ prevent Tesla Motors from selling cars directly to customers. The stateĀ legislators are trying to unfairly protect automobile dealers in their statesĀ from competition. Tesla is providing competition, which is good forĀ consumers," according toĀ whitehouse.gov.
Tesla sells its electric vehicles in stores and customers orderĀ them individually online for delivery to bypass the "middleman" process whereĀ dealerships have their markups and patrons have to haggle over prices,Ā Georgeson said.
"It's more of an educational environment for our customers andĀ they don't have to feel the pressure to make a purchase," Georgeson said.
"The dealership is not a fit for our product," she said. "It'sĀ about building cars customized for our customers."
Tesla, which sells cars that run on rechargeable batteries,Ā currently has 36 car stores in the world, including 25 in the United States,Ā Georgeson said.
At least two states, Texas and Virginia, have laws restrictingĀ Tesla to so-called "gallery" stores where cars are displayed but customers
may not sit in, test drive or buy them and cannot even talk about prices,
Georgeson said.
Texas remains a strong market for Tesla, where customers often flyĀ to California to try the car, buy them online and have their cars delivered,Ā Georgeson said
Bills that would have banned or limited Tesla from operating itsĀ stores failed to pass this year in the New York, North Carolina and SouthĀ Carolina legislatures, Georgeson said.
But Stephen Smith, president of the Silicon Valley Auto DealersĀ Association in San Jose that represents 60 dealers, said Tesla is trying toĀ avoid competing fairly in the car market.
Auto dealers have to follow state franchise laws, some going backĀ to the 1930s, that protect consumers that Tesla does not, such as aĀ California statute limiting car brands to only one dealership within aĀ 10-mile radius.
"There's nobody for them to compete against as far as pricing,"Ā Smith said.
Tesla also has buyers finance purchases through the companyĀ itself, while dealers have to follow federal and state laws governingĀ financing with banks and credit unions, Smith said.
The car dealers with showrooms and car lots also have to invest inĀ service and repair centers while Tesla has no service centers, giving itĀ another unfair competitive advantage, Smith said.
Dealers are not opposed to Tesla's rechargeable battery-poweredĀ car, just how the firm does business, Smith said.
"It's a competition thing for us," he said.
Georgeson countered that Tesla does have a service program where
repair people come directly to customers' homes to work on their cars and 90
percent of its customers live within 100 miles of a company service location.
More 100,000 people have signed an online petition urgingĀ President Obama to oppose efforts by states to block Palo Alto-based TeslaĀ Motors from selling its electric cars directly to consumers, a companyĀ spokeswoman said today.
The White House petition drive, started by an anonymous TeslaĀ supporter on June 5, had 101,000 signatures as of today, beyond its goal ofĀ 100,000 byĀ Friday, spokeswoman Alexis Georgeson said.
Only 5,000 had signed the petition as of last Tuesday but a surgeĀ of signers came in after Tesla sent out an email blast to its customersĀ calling for signatures, Georgeson said.
The 100,000-signature threshold is the minimum required within 30Ā days to warrant a response from President Obama under the terms of his "WeĀ the People" online petitions atĀ whitehouse.gov, Georgeson said.
"The White House will take it under advisement and prepare aĀ response," Georgeson said.
The online signature drive comes as some states have consideredĀ legislation advocated by auto dealers to prevent Tesla from marketing cars inĀ its stores instead of conventional dealerships, Georgeson said.
The petition's message reads: "States should not be allowed toĀ prevent Tesla Motors from selling cars directly to customers. The stateĀ legislators are trying to unfairly protect automobile dealers in their statesĀ from competition. Tesla is providing competition, which is good forĀ consumers," according toĀ whitehouse.gov.
Tesla sells its electric vehicles in stores and customers orderĀ them individually online for delivery to bypass the "middleman" process whereĀ dealerships have their markups and patrons have to haggle over prices,Ā Georgeson said.
"It's more of an educational environment for our customers andĀ they don't have to feel the pressure to make a purchase," Georgeson said.
"The dealership is not a fit for our product," she said. "It'sĀ about building cars customized for our customers."
Tesla, which sells cars that run on rechargeable batteries,Ā currently has 36 car stores in the world, including 25 in the United States,Ā Georgeson said.
At least two states, Texas and Virginia, have laws restrictingĀ Tesla to so-called "gallery" stores where cars are displayed but customers
may not sit in, test drive or buy them and cannot even talk about prices,
Georgeson said.
Texas remains a strong market for Tesla, where customers often flyĀ to California to try the car, buy them online and have their cars delivered,Ā Georgeson said
Bills that would have banned or limited Tesla from operating itsĀ stores failed to pass this year in the New York, North Carolina and SouthĀ Carolina legislatures, Georgeson said.
But Stephen Smith, president of the Silicon Valley Auto DealersĀ Association in San Jose that represents 60 dealers, said Tesla is trying toĀ avoid competing fairly in the car market.
Auto dealers have to follow state franchise laws, some going backĀ to the 1930s, that protect consumers that Tesla does not, such as aĀ California statute limiting car brands to only one dealership within aĀ 10-mile radius.
"There's nobody for them to compete against as far as pricing,"Ā Smith said.
Tesla also has buyers finance purchases through the companyĀ itself, while dealers have to follow federal and state laws governingĀ financing with banks and credit unions, Smith said.
The car dealers with showrooms and car lots also have to invest inĀ service and repair centers while Tesla has no service centers, giving itĀ another unfair competitive advantage, Smith said.
Dealers are not opposed to Tesla's rechargeable battery-poweredĀ car, just how the firm does business, Smith said.
"It's a competition thing for us," he said.
Georgeson countered that Tesla does have a service program where
repair people come directly to customers' homes to work on their cars and 90
percent of its customers live within 100 miles of a company service location.
Copyright Ā© 2013 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
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