For now, electric car manufacturer Tesla will continue to be able to sell cars directly to consumers from their showroom in the Natick Mall.
The Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association had sought to prevent the direct sales, citing a state law that regulates the relationship between car manufacturers and auto dealers, but the Supreme Judicial Court unanimously ruled Monday that the association and two dealers - Herb Connolly Chevrolet and Fisker Norwood - didn't have legal standing to bring the case.
Robert O’Keniewski is president of the Massachusetts State Auto Dealers Association, a group that represents more than 400 new and used auto dealers across the state.
"We obviously feel the law says one thing and others feel it says something else,” he said. "Whatever you think about the standing issue, we would still argue that the Tesla situation is violating the prohibition on factory store ownership."
But that’s a misinterpretation of the law’s intent, and Monday's ruling proves as much, according to Diarmuid O’Connell, TESLA’s vice president of corporate development.
"If the dealers believe there is a law that stipulates that then they probably should have brought heir case according to that aspect of the law rather than this one because that would be then the stronger one,” O’Connell said.
Whether the ruling finally marks the end of the dealers’ years-long effort to prevent Tesla from selling directly to consumers here still remains to be seen. O'Keniewski said he'd review the decision with the board and his and figured out a course of action.
"One course of action, obviously, is to go to the legislature and try to get this standing issue fixed," he said.
O'Keniewski stressed that those discussions have not yet taken place. But as far as the folks at Tesla are concerned, we’ve reached the end of the road.
While there are no specific plans yet in place, O'Connell said Tesla is now eyeing both the North Shore and the South Shore as potential Massachusetts locations for future Tesla stores.
"We think this clarifies the situation settles the law and allows all parties to move forward in the competitive marketplace as opposed to the courtroom,” said O'Connell.
Read More: Tesla Aims To Change The Way Cars Are Sold In Bay State
