GM shuts down Tesla's direct sales chance in Connecticut

Tesla's ongoing fight to be allowed to sell its electric vehicles direct to customers in all 50 states returns to the forefront in North Carolina and Connecticut this week. Stop us if this all sounds familiar. Stop us if this is all a repeat.

"New car dealers and GM are powerful lobbyists."

Let's start with Connecticut, where a bill ( SB3) that would have let Tesla sell cars direct looked like it would fail yesterday. That's when Tesla pullet out one sweet carrot: the promise of a 150-job regional distribution center in the state if it could just be allowed to sell cars. Tesla's government relations manager Will Nicholas said that, "Tesla is prepared to make a real and lasting commitment to Connecticut. We want to invest here. We want to create jobs here. And we want to serve Connecticut customers." Unsurprisingly, General Motors and local car dealers were against the bill, Senate majority leader Bob Duff, told the CT Post that, "Without an agreement I couldn't bring it to a vote in the Senate. New car dealers and GM are powerful lobbyists." There's a chance the bill will get another hearing next year.

Meanwhile, over in North Carolina, there was a hearing today over Tesla's request for a second sales license. Green racer Leilani Münter wrote an essay about why the North Carolina should just issue the darn license. The fight in the Tar Heel state has been going on for a long time, and Münter says she was part of a pro-Tesla protest years ago and would also be at a hearing today. She later said that she was not allowed to speak. We'll keep an eye on her Twitter feed to see what happens next.

#LegalizeTesla NC hasn't granted @TeslaMotors a sales license in Charlotte. Hearing tomorrow https://t.co/2Ft97W66ez pic.twitter.com/Rf6MIxOlbi

— Leilani Münter (@LeilaniMunter) May 2, 2016

Tesla operates a service center and gallery in Charlotte and a service center in Raleigh. In Connecticut, the company only operates one service center, in Milford.

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