Tesla has five sales locations in New York but it’s been stuck without the ability to expand after a 2014 law went into effect. It’s now found a way around that law by setting up shop on land owned by the Oneida Indian Nation. It’s not the first time that Tesla has cut out dealers in such a manner either, and it might not be the last.
Direct sales are a major threat to dealers and they know it. To that end, dealers spend countless millions with their local governments to lobby for bans on direct sales. That kind of effort was successful in New York in 2014 when just such a ban was made law. Tesla’s five stores that were already in place were allowed to continue on but it wasn’t allowed to add any more locations.
This new partnership with the Oneida Indian Nation is a clever workaround that should benefit both parties. Located near exit 34 of the New York State Thruway upstate, this location will include sales, service, and supercharging all in one.
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“This partnership aligns with New York State’s climate action council’s scoping plan and will help the state meet its ambitious Electric Vehicle adoption goals,” said Rohan Patel, Vice President, Public Policy and Business Development for Tesla.
Geographically, the location couldn’t be much better for customers in New York either. Oneida Indian Nation’s land is located centrally in the state. That should provide Tesla customers and prospective customers in the area with a much more convenient site to get service and information.
This isn’t the first time that Tesla has leveraged a partnership with an Indian nation to offer its cars to more customers. Back in 2021, it did it for the first time with the First Nation of Nambé Pueblo just north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. It wouldn’t be shocking to see further partnerships in the future as states like Florida entertain new laws that would ban direct sales and make it illegal for dealers to provide transparent pricing.
