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MIAMI, FL – JUNE 06: People walk out of a Tesla motor company dealership in the Dadeland Mall on June 6, 2013 in Miami, Florida. The electric car maker is trying to make a move by selling their cars, that can cost between $62,400 and $82,400, into malls and stores. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Joe Raedle via Getty Images
MIAMI, FL – JUNE 06: Nicholas Craan (L) and Francesco Campoy look at a Tesla motor company car in a dealership at the Dadeland Mall on June 6, 2013 in Miami, Florida. The electric car maker is trying to make a move by selling their cars, that can cost between $62,400 and $82,400, into malls and stores. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Joe Raedle via Getty Images
MIAMI, FL – JUNE 06: Gaelle Freer and her son Alexander LeVaillant Freer look at a Tesla motor company car in a dealership at the Dadeland Mall on June 6, 2013 in Miami, Florida. The electric car maker is trying to make a move by selling their cars, that can cost between $62,400 and $82,400, into malls and stores. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Joe Raedle via Getty Images
MIAMI, FL – JUNE 06: Marcelo Jaramillo, assistant store manager, (2nd R) shows a Tesla motor company car in a dealership at the Dadeland Mall on June 6, 2013 in Miami, Florida. The electric car maker is trying to make a move by selling their cars, that can cost between $62,400 and $82,400, into malls and stores. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Joe Raedle via Getty Images
MIAMI, FL – JUNE 06: People walk past a Tesla motor company dealership in the Dadeland Mall on June 6, 2013 in Miami, Florida. The electric car maker is trying to make a move by selling their cars, that can cost between $62,400 and $82,400, into malls and stores. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Joe Raedle via Getty Images
MIAMI, FL – JUNE 06: Tesla motor company accessories hang from the wall in the recently opened dealership in the Dadeland Mall on June 6, 2013 in Miami, Florida. The electric car maker is trying to make a move by selling their cars, that can cost between $62,400 and $82,400, into malls and stores. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Joe Raedle via Getty Images
MIAMI, FL – JUNE 06: People walk in a Tesla motor company dealership in the Dadeland Mall on June 6, 2013 in Miami, Florida. The electric car maker is trying to make a move by selling their cars, that can cost between $62,400 and $82,400, into malls and stores. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Joe Raedle via Getty Images
MIAMI, FL – JUNE 06: A Tesla motor company car is parked in a dealership in the Dadeland Mall on June 6, 2013 in Miami, Florida. The electric car maker is trying to make a move by selling their cars, that can cost between $62,400 and $82,400, into malls and stores. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Joe Raedle via Getty Images
The Tesla showroom is shown at the Washington Square Mall, Friday, July 20, 2012, in Portland, Ore. Tesla Motors only has 24 stores in the world, and now one of them is at Washington Square Mall in Portland. The company produces electric cars and hopes their product will be a hit with eco-conscious Oregonians. The cars can go from zero to 60 mph in less than six seconds, all without a drop of gasoline. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
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Amsterdam: Model S @ Tesla Store
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MIAMI, FL – JUNE 06: Marcelo Jaramillo, assistant store manager, (R) shows a Tesla motor company car in a dealership at the Dadeland Mall on June 6, 2013 in Miami, Florida. The electric car maker is trying to make a move by selling their cars, that can cost between $62,400 and $82,400, into malls and stores. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Joe Raedle via Getty Images
MIAMI, FL – JUNE 06: Gaelle Freer looks at a Tesla motor company car in a dealership at the Dadeland Mall on June 6, 2013 in Miami, Florida. The electric car maker is trying to make a move by selling their cars, that can cost between $62,400 and $82,400, into malls and stores. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Joe Raedle via Getty Images
MIAMI, FL – JUNE 06: Marcelo Jaramillo, assistant store manager, (R) explains how the Tesla motor company car works in a dealership at the Dadeland Mall on June 6, 2013 in Miami, Florida. The electric car maker is trying to make a move by selling their cars, that can cost between $62,400 and $82,400, into malls and stores. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Joe Raedle via Getty Images
Amsterdam: Model S @ Tesla Store
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Amsterdam: Tesla Store
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Eindhoven: Tesla Store
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There is a Tesla store inside this mall…
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DC Tesla Store
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New Tesla Motors store
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Tesla store
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Tesla Tyson’s
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A Tesla Model S is shown in the showroom at the Washington Square Mall, Friday, July 20, 2012, in Portland, Ore. Tesla Motors only has 24 stores in the world, and now one of them is at Washington Square Mall in Portland. The company produces electric cars and hopes their product will be a hit with eco-conscious Oregonians. The cars can go from zero to 60 mph in less than six seconds, all without a drop of gasoline. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
ASSOCIATED PRESSWhen the laws say you can’t, grassroots groups say you can. In Michigan, a group that’s been supporting Tesla Motors’ efforts to be legally allowed to sell its electric vehicles in the state is
giving out test drives for prospective Tesla owners,
Electrek says. The
Michigan Freedom to Buy Coalition was formed last year after
Gov. Rick Snyder signed a bill in October 2014 mandating that Tesla couldn’t sell vehicles in the state without using third-party dealerships.
As it stands now, the approximately 400 owners of Tesla vehicles in Michigan need to go to Chicago (about 300 miles from Detroit), Cleveland (170 miles from the Motor City),
or Windsor (across the border in Canada) for test drives or to get their vehicles repaired or serviced. Granted, there’s a new legislative effort in Michigan that was launched in February and is geared towards allowing Tesla to sell directly without the middle man, but given Michigan’s standing as the center of US automobile production, dealer lobbying efforts remain strong.
Meanwhile, Tesla continues to work its way around the country, most recently challenging Utah’s laws prohibiting direct-to-consumer sales. The California-based automaker argues that Tesla’s electric vehicles should only be sold through the company because of its greater knowledge of the product and unique service proposition such as over-the-air software improvements and other features. A Tesla representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from
Autoblog about the Michigan test-drive efforts.
Earlier this year, Tesla applied for a dealership license in MIchigan in an effort to force the hand of Michigan’s secretary of state, but, surprise,
the state has been slow in processing the application.
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