If you are a car dealer in Massachusetts you likely feel that car manufacturers should not be able to sell directly to customers in the state. Tesla Motors (TSLA) disagreed, and a judge backed them up. This ruling is the latest victory in the state for Tesla. This time it comes from the Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court.
It was Unanimous in the Supreme Court for the state:
The state’s Supreme Judicial Court unanimously concluded that the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association and two dealers lacked standing to block direct Tesla sales under a state law designed to protect franchise owners from abuses by car manufacturers. (Reuters)
This from a great source on the story, XConomy:
Like many states, Massachusetts has laws that ban car manufacturers from owning dealerships that compete with independent dealers. When they were put into place, those rules were typically meant to stop Ford, General Motors, and the like from collecting franchise fees from a local dealer and then setting up shop themselves, undercutting the franchisee on price.
Read more at XConomy.