Tesla vs. Local Car Dealers: White House Petition Nears Deadline

Tesla sells its electric cars directly to customers, but car dealers in many states in the U.S. don't want to face the competition of direct sales of new cars. This is a crucial issue for Tesla, whose business model depends on direct sales. One Tesla stockholder has petitioned the White House to prevent states from forbidding the direct sales.

So far, Tesla is able to legally sell new cars (like the Tesla Model S pictured above) directly to customers in every state except Texas. However, there's movement among states such as New York and North Carolina to make it complicated or even illegal to sell cars directly to the public. Third-party car dealers don't want direct sales to interfere with their business.