Tesla Motors is looking to sell its cars directly to Texans over the internet, but the state will have to loosen its strict rules on direct car sales in order for that to happen.
The goal for the electric car maker is to avoid going through car dealerships and outside salesmen since it says these methods are too invested in selling vehicles powered by gasoline, according to Tech Times. Texas is among several other states that currently prohibit automakers from selling their cars, but Tesla wants to restart proposals next month for direct car sales in the state that were put on hold last year during the legislative session.
"We're not asking to blow up the franchise dealer system," said Diarmuid O'Connell, vice president for business development at Tesla. "We are looking for a narrow and reasonable window to be able to promote this new technology ourselves."
Texas was among several states that Tesla was looking at when deciding where to build its $5 billion gigafactory, though the company ended up going with Nevada. However, Tesla promises that it will invest in the state in the future.
While direct car sales in Texas have so far only received public support from a few members of the Legislature, among them is outgoing Gov. Rick Perry, who called the state's laws "antiquated" in March, and said Texas needed to have an "open conversation about this," San Jose Mercury News reported. However, this was said when Texas was still a candidate as a location for the gigafactory.
Four economics and law professors from Texas universities signed an op-ed that appeared in the Austin American Statesman this week. These four, along with eight other academics, signed a longer letter that was sent to every member of the Legislature, urging them to "modernize" regulations for car sales and get rid of current restrictions that protect auto dealers and hurt competition in the process.
Supporters have said the process won't be easy, with O'Connell and others saying choosing Nevada instead of Texas for the gigafactory site may make things difficult, San Jose Mercury News reported.
"Does the fact that we didn't site the factory there complicate things? Absolutely," O'Connell said. "But we're going to be doing a number of big battery factories in the coming years and we're going to need new vehicle factories as well, and there's a certain logic to doing those in Texas."
Tesla's direct sales strategy is currently banned in five states: Texas, New Jersey, Maryland, Michigan and Arizona, Tech Times reported.
The automaker said it will deliver 1.5 million new cars to Texas in 2015, equivalent to about 10 percent of all new car sales across the U.S.
