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Tesla wins in Massachusetts, tries for more in New Jersey

Another brick falls as Tesla fights to practice its direct-to-consumer business model. A Massachusetts high court has thrown out a lawsuit seeking to block the electric car company from selling vehicles the Tesla way in the state. The Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association, along with two dealers, claimed that Tesla was in violation of a law that protects affiliated dealerships from oppressive practices from automakers. According to the law, it is illegal for an automaker to operate "a motor vehicle dealership within the relevant market area of a motor vehicle dealer of the same line make." The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the plaintiffs didn't have a standing in this case because they weren't affiliated with Tesla, and because Tesla also doesn't have any franchise dealerships in the state. Judge Margot Botsford writes that the law, "was intended and understood only to prohibit manufacturer-owned dealerships when, unlike Tesla, the manufacturer already had an affiliated dealer or dealers in Massachusetts." Armed with the Massachusetts win, Tesla is taking another whack at New Jersey. Armed with that win, Tesla is taking another whack at New Jersey, which barred Tesla from selling cars directly to customers in the state. Tesla's appeal argues that the state franchise statute doesn't apply to it, as the automaker lacks any franchisor-franchisee relationship. Tesla also argues that the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission doesn't have the authority to enforce the statute, and that certain rules (requirements of minimum square footage, multiple display models and on-site servicing) violate the state Constitution. In New Jersey, though, the appeal may become moot, as there are currently at least two pending bills that could grant exemption to Tesla, allowing it to sell cars directly to consumers. Jim Appleton, president of the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers, says, "Something may be on the governor's desk and signed before they even decide to grant oral arguments at all." Tesla recently won the right to practice its sales model in the state of Nevada as part of a deal to build its Gigafactory in Reno. Tesla is still barred from selling its cars in Texas, Arizona and Maryland.

Elon Musk's Hyperloop idea still in motion

After teasing the concept in 2012, Tesla CEO Elon Musk released some thoughts on a high-speed transportation project called the Hyperloop in 2013. He then promptly renounced any claim on the idea and said he would not actually build the open source project. The hyperloop didn't die, though, and is still attracting new brainpower. Hyperloop Transportation Technologies was officially formed with a JumpStartFund late last year, a few months after Musk made the concept public. The company has since grown into a collective of about 100 engineers who have full-time gigs with companies such as Boeing, Airbus, NASA and, of course, Musk's own SpaceX, Wired says. Some students at UCLA are taking part in the design process, which is detailed in a new "crowdstorm" document. The idea behind the Hyperloop is to build above-ground tubes where passenger capsules devoid of friction (with the help of either air compression or magnetic levitation) can travel up to 800 miles per hour between cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco. The HTT collective is already talking about having economy- and business-class capsules. The good news is that the group says the early predictions for Hyperloop remain realistic. That means a timeframe of about a decade to complete the first system with a price tag of between $6 billion and $10 billion is still on the table. For now, at least. Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Inc. Announces New Designs, Crowdstorming Document and Core Team EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Dec. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Inc. powered by JumpStartFund announced today the crossing of major milestones, bringing the company closer to the goal of creating a working high speed mass transit system. These milestones include the finalization of the company's 100 core team members and the publishing of a new crowdstorm document. Recently acquiring its 100 core team members, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies is powered by the unique collaboration platform JumpStartFund. These 100 members are professionals, engineers and designers from some of the most esteemed organizations on the planet, including Boeing, Airbus, NASA, Harvard, UCLA, Stanford, and others, collaborating globally in the U.S., Asia, Australia and Europe. The company released a new crowdstorm document expanding on concepts and sharing the most recent developments produced by the company. Highlights from the paper include a detailed cost, route and safety analyses.

Tesla facilitating Chinese trade-ins for Model S buyers

When many people buy a new vehicle in the US, it's quite common to trade in an older model at the same time. Not only does the decision knock a little money off the purchase, but there's often not enough room for an extra car taking up room in the driveway. Now, Tesla is extending that option to some of its buyers in China in hopes that the added convenience boosts sales. According to Bloomberg, Tesla is working with used car traders in Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou to help buyers dump their old vehicles. That value is then deducted from the price of the customer's new Model S. Tesla is still a rather new entrant into China but seems to be performing well. The company began selling the Model S there in April, and it only took a few months to deliver the first 1,000 vehicles. It didn't hurt that the initial pricing was lower than expected, the first 3,000 buyers in Shanghai have been eligible for a free license place, a roughly $15,000 value. According to Bloomberg, the electric automaker has opened nine stores and service locations in six Chinese cities, so far. The business is also considering opening a factory there at some point in the future. News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Wang Zhao / AFP / Getty Images Green Tesla Car Buying Car Dealers Electric Sedan trade-in