Tesla US dealership disputes

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Electric car manufacturer Tesla, Inc. has faced dealership disputes in several US states as a result of franchise laws. Unlike other automakers, Tesla does not rely on franchised auto dealerships to sell vehicles and instead directly sells vehicles through its website and a network of company-owned stores. All 50 states have laws that limit or ban manufacturers from selling vehicles directly to customers, with many states requiring that new cars be sold only by franchised dealers. Tesla maintains that to properly explain to consumers the advantages its cars have over vehicles with an internal combustion engine, it cannot rely on third-party dealerships to handle its sales. Tesla has also argued it is not subject to franchise laws because it has never had franchised dealers. Economists have characterized laws that require independent dealers to sell cars as a form of rent-seeking that extracts rents from manufacturers of cars and increases costs for consumers of cars while raising profits...

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