Elon Musk is keeping Texas lawmakers off balance.
As reported here at Teslarati, "4 Thoughts on Tesla Motors And Elon Musk," the Tesla Motors CEO is staying aggressive in trying to persuade state legislators to review current franchise laws that block automotive companies from selling directly to the consumer. More talk from Elon Musk on this issue is good and even better when it's to empower players in different state legislatures. The video above highlights Musk meeting with reporters and enthusiasts outside the capitol building.
So how does Elon Musk stay aggressive on this issue? In Texas, Musk provided context on why the law was created and appealed to the legislatures' intellect. It wasn't revealed in the video, but it's assumed that Musk talked to key members of the Texas legislature.
From the video, someone asked, I assumed you pulled your punches on the hypocrisy of the (franchise) laws?
Musk replied, “I explained that it [franchise law] was originally put in place for a just cause, which is the big car companies were trying to disenfranchise their franchised dealers, mainly Ford under Jacque Nasser put a lot of pressure on the car dealers to sell their franchises back to the auto manufacturers at a...low price."
“The auto dealers went to the state legislature to seek protection for these sort of nefarious actions," Musk says. "But the [franchise] law is overly broad and prevented new car companies that were never granted franchises and were just selling direct, to being able sell cars. So, now, the auto dealers are using a just law that was put in place for a just cause, now, they are using it for an unjust cause, which is not right."
No drama, just the facts.
My guess, players outside of the EV ecosystem are starting to understand that Musk has been right in the past and, behind the scenes, are starting to think of how to "fit" Tesla Motors in the political world on some level. Or, do some politicians risk looking completely out of touch and in the pocket of lobbyists?
Where will it go in 2015, even when Mitt Romney has admitted that climate change is a real issue now? Will others move?