Tesla has been snubbed from a rebate that Texas gives to electric vehicle buyers, despite the automaker moving its headquarters to the state.
Texas recently released its list of electric and electrified vehicles that are eligible for the Light-Duty Motor Vehicle Purchase or Lease Program which rebates $2,500, and while 142 different models are on it, there is not one Tesla.
The reason for the snub is because Tesla lacks a dealership network. Instead of a traditional sales model, the electric car brand prefers to instead sell its vehicles directly to customers, but that disqualified it from the rebates according to laws in Texas.
The rebate program is run by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and media and community relations manager Laura Lope says that the state’s franchise dealer law requires eligible vehicles to be purchased at a dealer in-state.
“The program currently requires that eligible vehicles must be purchased or leased from a licensed new vehicle dealer or leasing company in Texas. Under Texas law, vehicles purchased directly from the manufacturer or an out-of-state dealer not licensed to sell or lease new vehicles in Texas are not eligible for a rebate,” Lopez told The Center Square.
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Tesla recently opened its Giga factory in Austin where it will produce the Cybertruck as well as the Model Y. However, the brand is not allowed to sell any of the vehicles produced there directly to Texans; instead, it must first ship them out of state in order to bring them back in.
The brand has tried multiple times to get the law changed, most recently in 2021 with House Bill 4379, but that bill failed and lawmakers won’t meet again until 2023.
Although the hurdles are certainly irritating, it doesn’t seem to have hurt Tesla’s sales too badly, especially considering many people don’t like car dealerships to begin with according to Carla Bailo, president and CEO of the Center for Automotive Research in Michigan.
“It certainly hasn’t slowed down Tesla’s sales – they are still selling in all these places they don’t have dealerships – and a lot more companies are starting to go that way because the consumer really likes it,” she said. “[Dealership laws] are protecting something that might be going by the wayside in any case. The dealer, unfortunately, hasn’t always been a pleasant experience for a lot of people.”
The absence of Tesla dealerships might be a comfort to buyers at this point in time, however, as just about every vehicle in high demand is receiving insane markups. Rather than receive a rebate from the government, Tesla buyers are likely happy to get an extremely popular vehicle without having to pay a ridiculous markup for the privilege.
