Why Tesla keeps fighting for direct sales when it could just work with dealers
On Tuesday, Michigan doubled down on a state law that forces car manufacturers to sell their vehicles through franchised dealerships. The move is a blow for automaker Tesla, which has been trying to bypass the dealerships in various states with mixed success.
Musk could easily work with franchise owners if he really wanted to. But if you're a manufacturer, you cede a lot of control to the dealership when you hand over your cars. As anyone who's haggled for a car knows, dealers have a lot of power to set prices. They can give customers a bad experience — causing folks to walk away, vowing never to buy a Volkswagen or a Toyota again.
Almost every negative experience people have when buying a car is associated with the dealership. This is just delaying the inevitable.
