Tesla Asks Supreme Court To Allow It To Sell Cars In Utah

Tesla has pleaded with the Supreme Court to allow it to sell its electric vehicles in Utah without the obligatory third-party franchise currently required by law.

Just like Michigan, Connecticut and Texas, Utah doesn’t permit Tesla’s sales model of selling vehicles directly to the public. In 2015, Utah’s Motor Vehicles Enforcement Division denied the automaker a license to sell vehicles, leaving its recently-built dealership as nothing but a showroom and Supercharging station.

In a lawsuit challenging the state’s interpretation of the dealership law, Tesla argues that it has complied with all local laws by setting up ‘Tesla Utah’ as a separate entity in charge of the dealership.

“We sell across the whole world, including China, all through Europe, all through Asia. There’re only four places in the world we haven’t been able to sell direct — Utah, Michigan, Texas and Connecticut. Utah is a very important market. It’s a very entrepreneurial place. … It really, I think, is wrong that we can sell in China and not in Utah,” Tesla said in a statement.

The Utah Supreme Court is expected to take several weeks to release its ruling, reports The Salt Lake Tribune.