The FTC joins Chris Christie in the Tesla Debate

Tesla, a company that wants to be able to sell their electric vehicles in all fifty U.S. states, received a boost this week. The Federal Trade Commission, or specifically Andy Gavil, Debbie Feinstein and Marty Gaynor, published a piece on the FTC website speaking out in support of Tesla. Referring to the regulations that have prevented the California based manufacturer from selling cars in certain states, they said, “We believe this is bad policy.”

The FTC editorial has a disclaimer at the bottom of the page noting that the views of Gavil, a former law professor, Feinstein, a decorated lawyer and Gaynor, a distinguished academic, are their own and, “do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Commission or of any individual Commissioner.” While it isn’t as if President Obama is speaking out in support of Tesla, it’s still a big deal. The aforementioned three are directors of departments within the FTC. This is a development in a saga that was gaining steam on it’s own, but has now clearly caught the attention, and support of high ranking government officials.

The FTC group certainly felt for Tesla’s court struggles when they said that, “Efforts to litigate, legislate, and regulate to eliminate Tesla’s perceived threat have forced it to battle jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction for the simple right to sell its automobiles directly to consumers.” The ability to sell it’s automobiles directly to the public, even if it doesn’t coincide with all current laws, described as a “right,” may speak to the tone of the pro-Tesla argument moving forward.

Those who want to the USA to drop selling regulations on tesla can to some extent, be numbered.  A petition on whitehouse.gov to allow the company to sell in all 50 states has 133,599 signatures. After reaching the 100,000 thousand signature threshold necessary to receive a response,(nearly a year ago) mum’s the word from Pennsylvania Avenue. While the executive branch hasn’t been quoted on the issue, one very well known politician has.

A citizen in New Jersey wanted to know more about the Tesla regulation from Governor Chris Christie. His name has been linked to the legislation that prevents Tesla from selling to consumers in the Garden State. During a town hall meeting in late March, Christie said, that, “I have no problem with Tesla selling directly to customers, except that it’s against the law in New Jersey. What they were asking for was an exception from the law. I’m not the king. I don’t get to grant exceptions to the law.” Christie pointed to the State Legislature as the group responsible for keeping Tesla out of the state.

This hot button issue isn’t going away anytime soon. Tesla Founder Elon Musk has been quoted as wanting to seek federal law changes rather than engage in a state-by-state battle to be able to sell his electric cars. Georgia, New York and Ohio all have either pending or expectedlegislation on the Tesla issue. This development specifically, or as a concept, impacts car dealers. What do dealers think of think of this Tesla issue? That’s something that we hope to hear more about in the comment section below.