The State of South Carolina has laws in place that govern car dealer practices, including the display of vehicles and interaction with company representatives. However, it appears that the automotive manufacturer may be pushing the boundaries in lieu of building actual dealerships.
In South Carolina, a franchise dealer or manufacturer must at a minimum obtain a temporary dealer's license in order to properly and legally display vehicles. Further, company representatives are not supposed to engage in direct selling or demonstration of display vehicles offsite. Tesla brought along a vintage Airstream trailer doubling as a portable showroom along with two display vehicles. Tesla marketing materials also festooned the display area as individuals clothed in Tesla gear demonstrated vehicle features.
What is questionable is whether the electric vehicle manufacturer obtained the necessary dealer license to legally display said vehicles. There was no visible temporary dealer license visible at the offsite display, and when asked, representatives were unaware of such a requirement.
Tesla Motors representatives can clearly be seen engaging with potential customers at the offsite display and given the applicable statute, it would appear that the manufacturer could be in direct violation of the law.
This issue is what would seem clearly problematic for a manufacturer who is now experiencing reported financial problems, some of which may be a direct result of their failure engage with actual showrooms and dealers prepared to sell the product. One could readily speculate that this questionable effort recently seen in the Charleston, SC. area suburb is not a positive indication of future success for the otherwise innovative auto manufacturer.
Copyright 2017, Robert Liotti. All Rights Reserved.
