News
Michigan argues Tesla “never sought the ability to directly sell” within state
Michigan officials have filed a response to a Tesla federal lawsuit which alleges that the state has unfairly denied the Silicon Valley-based electric car company from selling cars within the state. At issue is a “Anti-Tesla” amendment that prevents the company’s effort to “sell and service its critically-acclaimed, all-electric vehicles at Tesla-owned facilities” in that state.
The state says they have an entirely different interpretation and call Tesla’s version “incorrect.” Michigan requires that vehicles must be sold through a franchised dealer. Today’s state response includes Michigan’s argument that Tesla “has never sought the ability to directly sell its vehicles in Michigan but only licenses to operate dealerships.”
In an email to The Detroit News today, Tesla said, “If it’s the state’s position that Tesla can sell its cars directly to consumers, Tesla welcomes that opportunity and invites the state to work with us so that we can start serving our customers in Michigan as soon as possible.”
Of course, the Big Three automakers — General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles US— have their headquarters in the Detroit area.
An October 2014 Michigan state law bans automakers from selling vehicles directly to consumers. The Michigan Legislature, backed by the state’s new-car dealership lobby, voted strongly in favor of the amendment, which has come to be known as the “anti-Tesla” bill. Many believe that the law was intended to close a loophole that Tesla has used in other states to maintain company-owned retail stores and bypass the dealership route. Tesla’s complaint outlines that the “only conceivable reason” for the law is “to reward the dealers’ generous lobbying efforts by handing them a monopoly.”
Tesla seeks two things in its lawsuit. To start, it is asking for a declaratory judgment that Michigan’s ban on direct-sales violates the Due Process, Equal Protection, and Commerce Clauses of the Constitution as applied to Tesla. The law, Tesla says, prohibits it from selling its vehicles directly to consumers, and it also precludes Tesla from performing service and repairs within the State. Moreover, Tesla wants a permanent injunction preventing state officials from enforcing the law, including the October 2014 amendment.
What’s the state’s retort? The state argues a 2000 state law would not have allowed Tesla to sell its vehicles, and Tesla wasn’t incorporated until three years later. “The statutory scheme that plaintiff claims discriminates against plaintiff has existed in its current form since before plaintiff existed as a company,” the state says in its response.
The Michigan Secretary of State’s office had denied Tesla’s new-dealership license request in September. The governor had declared that the law “clarifies and strengthens” an existing long-standing prohibition of new car direct sales in Michigan. Soon after, on September 22, 2016, Tesla filed the lawsuit in federal court in western Michigan against three individuals: Governor Rick Snyder, Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson, and Attorney General Bill Schuette. The state contends that none of these individuals has “violated any of plaintiff’s constitutional rights, or any rights whatsoever.”
Earlier this month, Tesla opened a Troy gallery showroom, housed within a Nordstrom department store. With an artistic atmosphere, the 700-square-foot space includes a Model X SUV for consumers to scrutinize. However, no sales can be made at the site. Instead, customers must head online for product details and ordering information.
Governor Snyder commented about the Tesla-Nordstrom gallery with a politician’s finesse. “That’s a legal issue that I’ve said would be a good topic for the Legislature to look at, to say what about new manufacturers and those issues. I would encourage our Legislature to look at (Tesla’s gallery surrogate showroom) when they deem appropriate.”
Tesla is requesting a jury trial.
“Tesla will continue to fight for the rights of Michigan consumers to be able to choose how they buy cars in Michigan. Giving auto dealers a monopoly on car sales benefits them, but harms consumers,” said Tesla in a statement.
Elon Musk
Tesla analysts believe Musk and Trump feud will pass
Tesla CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump’s feud shall pass, several bulls say.
Tesla analysts are breaking down the current feud between CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump, as the two continue to disagree on the “Big Beautiful Bill” and its impact on the country’s national debt.
Musk, who headed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the Trump Administration, left his post in May. Soon thereafter, he and President Trump entered a very public and verbal disagreement, where things turned sour. They reconciled to an extent, and things seemed to be in the past.
However, the second disagreement between the two started on Monday, as Musk continued to push back on the “Big Beautiful Bill” that the Trump administration is attempting to sign into law. It would, by Musk’s estimation, increase spending and reverse the work DOGE did to trim the deficit.
Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame!
And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 30, 2025
President Trump has hinted that DOGE could be “the monster” that “eats Elon,” threatening to end the subsidies that SpaceX and Tesla receive. Musk has not been opposed to ending government subsidies for companies, including his own, as long as they are all abolished.
How Tesla could benefit from the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ that axes EV subsidies
Despite this contentious back-and-forth between the two, analysts are sharing their opinions now, and a few of the more bullish Tesla observers are convinced that this feud will pass, Trump and Musk will resolve their differences as they have before, and things will return to normal.
ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood said this morning that the feud between Musk and Trump is another example of “this too shall pass:”
BREAKING: CATHIE WOOD SAYS — ELON AND TRUMP FEUD “WILL PASS” 👀 $TSLA
She remains bullish ! pic.twitter.com/w5rW2gfCkx
— TheSonOfWalkley (@TheSonOfWalkley) July 1, 2025
Additionally, Wedbush’s Dan Ives, in a note to investors this morning, said that the situation “will settle:”
“We believe this situation will settle and at the end of the day Musk needs Trump and Trump needs Musk given the AI Arms Race going on between the US and China. The jabs between Musk and Trump will continue as the Budget rolls through Congress but Tesla investors want Musk to focus on driving Tesla and stop this political angle…which has turned into a life of its own in a roller coaster ride since the November elections.”
Tesla shares are down about 5 percent at 3:10 p.m. on the East Coast.
Elon Musk
Tesla scrambles after Musk sidekick exit, CEO takes over sales
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is reportedly overseeing sales in North America and Europe, Bloomberg reports.
Tesla scrambled its executives around following the exit of CEO Elon Musk’s sidekick last week, Omead Afshar. Afshar was relieved of his duties as Head of Sales for both North America and Europe.
Bloomberg is reporting that Musk is now overseeing both regions for sales, according to sources familiar with the matter. Afshar left the company last week, likely due to slow sales in both markets, ending a seven-year term with the electric automaker.
Tesla’s Omead Afshar, known as Elon Musk’s right-hand man, leaves company: reports
Afshar was promoted to the role late last year as Musk was becoming more involved in the road to the White House with President Donald Trump.
Afshar, whose LinkedIn account stated he was working within the “Office of the CEO,” was known as Musk’s right-hand man for years.
Additionally, Tom Zhu, currently the Senior Vice President of Automotive at Tesla, will oversee sales in Asia, according to the report.
It is a scramble by Tesla to get the company’s proven executives over the pain points the automaker has found halfway through the year. Sales are looking to be close to the 1.8 million vehicles the company delivered in both of the past two years.
Tesla is pivoting to pay more attention to the struggling automotive sales that it has felt over the past six months. Although it is still performing well and is the best-selling EV maker by a long way, it is struggling to find growth despite redesigning its vehicles and launching new tech and improvements within them.
The company is also looking to focus more on its deployment of autonomous tech, especially as it recently launched its Robotaxi platform in Austin just over a week ago.
However, while this is the long-term catalyst for Tesla, sales still need some work, and it appears the company’s strategy is to put its biggest guns on its biggest problems.
News
Tesla upgrades Model 3 and Model Y in China, hikes price for long-range sedan
Tesla’s long-range Model 3 now comes with a higher CLTC-rated range of 753 km (468 miles).
Tesla has rolled out a series of quiet upgrades to its Model 3 and Model Y in China, enhancing range and performance for long-range variants. The updates come with a price hike for the Model 3 Long Range All-Wheel Drive, which now costs RMB 285,500 (about $39,300), up RMB 10,000 ($1,400) from the previous price.
Model 3 gets acceleration boost, extended range
Tesla’s long-range Model 3 now comes with a higher CLTC-rated range of 753 km (468 miles), up from 713 km (443 miles), and a faster 0–100 km/h acceleration time of 3.8 seconds, down from 4.4 seconds. These changes suggest that Tesla has bundled the previously optional Acceleration Boost for the Model 3, once priced at RMB 14,100 ($1,968), as a standard feature.
Delivery wait times for the long-range Model 3 have also been shortened, from 3–5 weeks to just 1–3 weeks, as per CNEV Post. No changes were made to the entry-level RWD or Performance versions, which retain their RMB 235,500 and RMB 339,500 price points, respectively. Wait times for those trims also remain at 1–3 weeks and 8–10 weeks.
Model Y range increases, pricing holds steady
The Model Y Long Range has also seen its CLTC-rated range increase from 719 km (447 miles) to 750 km (466 miles), though its price remains unchanged at RMB 313,500 ($43,759). The model maintains a 0–100 km/h time of 4.3 seconds.
Tesla also updated delivery times for the Model Y lineup. The Long Range variant now shows a wait time of 1–3 weeks, an improvement from the previous 3–5 weeks. The entry-level RWD version maintained its starting price of RMB 263,500, though its delivery window is now shorter at 2–4 weeks.
Tesla continues to offer several purchase incentives in China, including an RMB 8,000 discount for select paint options, an RMB 8,000 insurance subsidy, and five years of interest-free financing for eligible variants.
Tesla analysts believe Musk and Trump feud will pass
Tesla scrambles after Musk sidekick exit, CEO takes over sales
Tesla upgrades Model 3 and Model Y in China, hikes price for long-range sedan
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