2021 Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus 4dr Sedan on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Tesla will fix 1,100 Model S motors in Norway

As far as we know, Tesla didn't build all of the Model S sedans it has sold in Norway at once, but it is just those vehicles that have been found defective and will soon be fixed. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that the company will replace defective Model S drive units sold in the Northern European country. Not a great way to start the holiday season. The issue involves a part that connects the Model S' drive motor to the gearbox, according to Dow Jones Business News. The part could break down because the company didn't apply enough grease to the part when the cars were produced. The issue may impact about 1,100 vehicles that had been shipped to Norway, though about one percent of those have already experienced "premature" wear and tear. The repairs for the couplings will take about a month. We suspect the news won't put much of a damper on Model S demand in a country that's been on the leading edge of electric-vehicle adoption with its high subsidies and cheap electricity. In March, Tesla set an all-time monthly sales record for any type of vehicle in Norway, moving almost 1,500 units that month. In fact, on a per-capita basis, the Model S sold more than the best-selling Ford F-150 here in the states that month.

Tesla pushes hard against Michigan's anti-direct vehicle sales bills

While Tesla has been fighting against direct-vehicle sales bans in a number of states, the California electric vehicle company doesn't ask for help every time it finds itself in a skirmish. Last year, it did send out some ravens calling for assistance in Ohio. It has done so again to deal with a fast-moving situation in Michigan. A new bill, House Bill 5606, would not allow a vehicle manufacturer to "directly or indirectly own, operate, or control a new motor vehicle dealer." It would also prevent Tesla from opening one of its we're-not-selling-cars-here 'galleries' in the Mitten State. Local news station WSJM talked to State Representative Aric Nesbitt (who introduced the bill) and he maintains that the bill is not "anti-Tesla at all." It just clarifies other laws, he said, adding that "if Tesla wants to have a real debate on current structure and state statute, I look forward to sitting down and meet[ing] with them, but them spreading lies about my bill, that's not a constructive use of their time." Lies, eh? Tesla did call the legislation "harmful to consumers" and described the way it says the bill came about in somewhat conspiratorial terms: On the last day of the legislative session, the dealers managed to make a last-minute change to the bill in an attempt to cement their broader retail monopoly. Using a procedure that prevented legislators and the public at large from knowing what was happening or allowing debate, Senator Joe Hune added new language in an attempt to lock Tesla out of the State. Unsurprisingly, Senator Hune counts the Michigan Automobile Dealers Association as one of his top financial contributors, and his wife's firm lobbies for the dealers. A number of Michigan auto dealers are big contributors to Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, who has yet to announce if he will sign the bill. He has until Tuesday to decide. You can read the full text of Tesla's call for help below. A Raw Deal in Michigan By The Tesla Motors Team October 16, 2014 On October 1, the Michigan Automobile Dealers Association succeeded in passing a bill that is harmful to consumers. The bill, HB5606, was originally a single amendment to existing law designed to ensure that the car dealers can tack additional fees on to the purchase price for all vehicles (from any manufacturer) sold in Michigan. Such fees have a controversial history, are generally regarded with skepticism and have been the subject of consumer concern in other states.

Why can't Tesla sell directly to consumers wherever it wants?

Our friends at Engadget, tech-obsessed sister site of Autoblog, have taken an in-depth look at the reason why it's so difficult for Tesla to sell its cars directly to consumers, the same way that Apple, for instance, can sell you an iPad at an Apple Store. As you're probably aware, the whole sordid affair can be traced back to dealer franchise laws, which vary dramatically state to state, all with the stated goal of protecting your local neighborhood car dealers from unfair competition. What sort of unfair competition, you ask? And from whom? Well, that's the heart of the matter, and it seemingly makes very little sense to the average consumer. Engadget puts it pretty bluntly: It's not really about Tesla, or electric cars. It's about money. It's an argument against competition that may or may not even manifest in reality. It's also a complicated issue, and one that doesn't have a simple solution. To wit, just as it seems unfair to keep Tesla from selling directly to consumers, it's also unfair, not to mention illegal, to shrug off and ignore rules and regulations that were concocted, debated and put into law as a protection to dealership owners, many of whom have been operating under said rules themselves for decades. Adding another wrinkle is the fact that nothing is preventing Tesla from using the established franchise-dealer model that every other automaker in the US also uses. Nothing, that is, other than Tesla itself. Want to know more? We can't promise that you'll really understand all the behind-the-scenes minutia and political wrangling that's gotten us to where we are now, but you will, at the very least, have an understanding of the issues at play after reading the article here. And when you're done, feel free to come on back and let us know what you think in the Comments.