Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) may soon be able to sell cars in New Jersey again, a report from CNBC’s Dominic Chu reveals.
According to the report, the New Jersey Assembly’s Consumer Affairs Committee approved a bill in a 4-0 vote that would allow Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) to sell its luxury electric cars in the state. The bill would allow the automaker to have four stores in the state with the caveat that the company needs to have a service center in the state.
Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) had two showrooms in the state that sold cars up until they were banned from doing so in April because of direct-to-consumer bans under car dealer laws.
According to NJ.com which broke the news of the new bill, Tesla Vice President of Business Development Diarmuid O’Connell said that the issue is important for the company not only in New Jersey but in the whole country as well. He said that the bill would allow the automobile maker to “in a modest way and a reasonable way, conduct the business of educating the public about electric vehicles and getting as many of those vehicles on the road as quickly as possible.” The news organization added that no one testified to oppose the bill.
CNBC’s Chu noted that the current showrooms in New Jersey are acting as mere galleries which show people Tesla Motors Inc’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) Model S but do not have the right to help people procure the car or even just reveal its price. Chu mentioned that according to one of the sponsors of the bill, the full Assembly may vote on the bill in the next two weeks and the state’s governor may have it by July 4.
The team then discussed whether the provision of needing a service center in the state cleared up all the concerns about the company selling cars directly to consumers. Chu told the CNBC team that it is a concession, apart from producing more jobs for the people of the state.
Among the shareholders of Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is Jonathon Jacobson’s Highfields Capital Management with a stake that totaled to 514,600 shares by the end of March. Patrick Mccormack’s Tiger Consumer Management also has a 402,950-share investment in the company that is valued at about $83 million.
Disclosure: None
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