Tesla CEO and Founder Elon Musk accused New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie of cutting a "backroom deal" with the auto dealer lobby — effectively booting the automaker from the state.
"Governor Christie had promised that this would be put to a vote of the elected state legislature, which is the appropriate way to change the law," Musk wrote in a scathing post on Tesla's blog Friday. "When it became apparent to the auto dealer lobby that this approach would not succeed, they cut a backroom deal with the Governor to circumvent the legislative process and pass a regulation that is fundamentally contrary to the intent of the law."
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Musk then outlined how the law in New Jersey originated. Years ago, he wrote, the major automakers sold franchises to generate capital and create a salesforce. "The franchisees then further invested a lot of their money and time in building up the dealerships. That’s a fair deal and it should not be broken," Musk wrote. When the automakers tried to pressure the franchisees to sell the dealerships back at a low price, the franchisees "rightly" sought protection from the state.
In Musk's view, the law's original purpose has been distorted. It was not designed to keep new car companies that sell direct to the public so much as protect the dealer-manufacturer relationship, he wrote. Musk believes the franchises will naturally direct consumers towards gas-powered cars instead of their electric models.
"The auto dealers have a fundamental conflict of interest between promoting gasoline cars, which constitute virtually all of their revenue, and electric cars, which constitute virtually none," he wrote.
The dealer model makes less sense for Tesla because there's little money to be made in electric car maintenance: "There are no oil, spark plug or fuel filter changes, no tune-ups and no smog checks needed for an electric car," Musk wrote. "Also, all Tesla Model S vehicles are capable of over-the-air updates to upgrade the software, just like your phone or computer, so no visit to the service center is required for that either."
The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission on Tuesday introduced a new rule banning Tesla from directly selling its cars in the state, starting April 1. The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission had granted two licenses allowing the company to sell directly in the state, but the New Jersey Coalition of Automobile Retailers (NJCAR) argued that the licenses were granted in error, and might allow a less scrupulous auto dealer to sell direct.
Musk countered that claim by taking a shot at Christie's Bridgegate scandal: "If you believe this, Gov. Christie has a bridge closure he wants to sell you!"
The Tesla founder urged New Jerseyans to buy a Telsa before the April 1 deadline, or visit Tesla dealerships in nearby New York City, or King of Prussia, Pa., after that date.
Consumers in the northern part of the state may want to hurry. The New York Post reports that New York dealers are also looking to kick Tesla out of the Empire State too.