By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services/East Valley Tribune
Calling the approach and the product innovative, a Senate panel voted Wednesday to let Tesla Motors finally start selling their vehicles directly to Arizona consumers.
It doesn’t hurt that the move might Arizona’s chances of landing a factory to manufacture batteries for the cars, one the company said might result in a $5 billion investment by 2020.
HB 2123 crafts an exemption from a 14-year-old state law which says cars and trucks can be sold in the state only by independently owned dealerships. Put simply, it requires a middleman between the manufacturer and the ultimate customer.
The 3-2 vote by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Energy and Military Affairs Committee came over the vigorous objections of Bobbi Sparrow, president of the Arizona Automobile Dealers Association.
