Tesla gained a temporary victory Thursday as an Indiana Senate committee decided to halt a bill that would have stopped the company from selling electric vehicles in the Hoosier state under its current direct sales-focused business model, according to a report by the Indianapolis Star.
The Indiana Senate Committee on Commerce & Technology voted to move the bill, to a study committee this summer.
The committee’s chairman, State Sen. Jim Buck, had been a supporter of the bill which opposes Tesla’s unconventional practice of selling its vehicles directly to customers, while refusing to sell at franchised dealerships. On Thursday, Buck and bill author Rep. Kevin Mahan agreed to have the study committee examine the bill.
“We are trying to make what we are doing here fair to all,” Buck said, as quoted by the Star.
The decision to table the vote means Tesla can’t be banned from making direct sales in the state until at least 2017.
“We look forward to participating in the upcoming summer study process where we will be able to fully air the issues of vehicle sales and consumer choice in an open and public forum,” Tesla said in a Thursday statement.
Tesla’s unique business model has irked many people and companies, including General Motors, which supports the direct sales ban in Indiana because it believes it gives the Elon Musk-run company a special advantage in the state. According to the Star, General Motors and other vehicle manufacturers are prevented from opening sales centers in Indiana under state law.
General Motors announced in a Thursday statement that it is still supportive of a law banning direct automobile sales in Indiana and other states.
“GM is very pleased that we were able to elevate the issue of disparity impacting our dealer partners in Indiana, that this received as much attention as it did, and that this issue advanced as far as it did,” the statement said. “We appreciate the Indiana legislature for taking this on, debating, and helping raise the profile of this important issue, which demonstrates the inequity of different competitors having different rules in the marketplace.”
