Michigan gets Luddite award for blocking Tesla sales

The state of Michigan is the, uh, honored recipient of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation's first Luddite Awards for its efforts to block Silicon Valley automaker Tesla Motors from opening stores in the state.

Michigan received the honor collectively with Arizona, Texas and New Jersey for taking "action to prevent Tesla from opening stores to sell cars directly to consumers," Washington-based ITIF said.

The foundation identified 10 "neo-Luddite" nominees for the top award, to be revealed Feb. 5. The term Luddite has become a common insult to describe people who are opposed to inevitable technology innovations, deriving its origin from craftsmen who opposed mechanized textile innovations in the 19th Century.

The attention comes after Gov. Rick Snyder in October signed a bill ensuring that Tesla can't sell cars directly to consumers in Michigan through stores. The automaker does not use franchises but instead sells cars directly to consumers through stores and its website.

The governor said he believed that auto manufacturers were already required to sell cars through franchises in Michigan, but that the bill clarified the existing law.

In signing the bill, Snyder appeared to leave the door open for changing the law at some point, saying "lawmakers can and should discuss the current business model soon."

Still, the move drew heat from Tesla supporters and even from Detroit booster Dan Gilbert, a Snyder supporter.

ITIF said its award winners "have worked to convince the public and policymakers that technological innovation is something to be feared and contained."

"The central challenge of our time is the need to rapidly increase living standards and quality of life for all of the world's citizens," said Robert Atkinson, president of ITIF, in a statement. "Innovation and technological development are absolutely essential to achieving this goal, but increasingly interests are uniting to thwart technology at every corner. By highlighting the most egregious examples of these efforts we hope to better educate the public and policy makers on why Luddite opposition is profoundly mistaken."

Other nominees included:

■The National Rifle Association for its opposition to so-called "smart guns."

■The state of New York for its effort to crack down on home rental service Airbnb and its hosts.

■Virginia and Nevada for attacking ride-sharing services.

■Members of the media for reporting that "robots" are stealing jobs.

Contact Nathan Bomey: 313-223-4743 or nbomey@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @NathanBomey.