At midnight on the morning of May 18th, a deadline in the state of Texas killed House Bill No. 1653, likely ending whatever chance might have existed of allowing Tesla Motors stores in the Lone Star State.
Autoblog reports that while any proposal can be tacked onto another bill as an amendment, so that the possibility of Tesla Motors stores in Texas isn’t entirely null, the prospect now certainly seems a whole lot dimmer.
House Bill No. 1653 would have allowed up to a dozen factory-owned Tesla Motors Stores in the state, and was initially pushed for by both a House Democrat and a Senate Republican. Ultimately, dealer opposition proved too fierce, and the House Bill died on the floor at its midnight deadline.
Autoblog reports that Democratic Rep. Senfronia Thompson, a veteran currently serving her 20th term, insists that the bill’s failure was the fault of the automaker. “I can appreciate Tesla wanting to sell cars,” said Ms. Thompson, “but I think it would have been wiser if Mr. Tesla had sat down with the car dealers first.”
(Note: Mr. Nikola Tesla, for whom the automaker is named, has been deceased since 1943.)
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