New Jersey To Allow Tesla To Sell Its Vehicles Directly To Consumers
By David Madden
TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) -- New Jersey will now allow an electric car manufacturer to sell its vehicles directly to consumers. That's a change from a policy adopted within the state just one year ago.
Regulators, under pressure from auto dealers across the state, banned Tesla from selling its cars independently. That started negotiations between the company and legislators to find a way to put them back in business in the Garden State.
Tesla Vice President for regulatory affairs James Chen says, "We agreed to a compromise where we were allowed to open up to four locations within the state and, of course, had to have a service center which is not a problem because we have a very large service center in Paramus, New Jersey."
Two Tesla locations in North Jersey shopping malls will now start selling again. Chen fully expects to expand into South Jersey, although there's nothing specifically planned yet.
The auto dealer lobby has also put up roadblocks to Tesla in other states…most notably Arizona.