Tesla Illegally Sold Cars From Greenwich Gallery, Court Says

GREENWICH, CT — Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla recently lost a court battle over its Greenwich Avenue gallery, in which a judge said the company was illegally selling cars from the location without a dealer's license, writes the Hartford Courant.

The complaint that led to the Connecticut Superior Court Judge Joseph M. Shortall's ruling reportedly had been launched by the Connecticut Automotive Retailers Association. The group is fighting to preserve the state's third-party car dealer network from direct-to-consumer sales from manufacturers like Tesla.

For its part, Tesla says it does not sell cars from the Greenwich location but uses the gallery to educate consumers about electric vehicles.

Patch reached out to Tesla, and a company spokesperson offered the following response to the court decision: "Tesla disagrees with the judge’s decision, and we stand by our mission to educate the public and raise awareness about the benefits of EVs because getting more EVs on the road is the right thing to do for the environment and for the battle against climate change."

WTNH-TV writes that Tesla is trying to get the Connecticut law changed to allow manufacturers to sell directly to consumers instead of through third-party dealerships.

Click here to read the full story on the Courant website, and click here to read it on the WTNH website.

Photo credit: Maggie Avants/Patch

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