On Tuesday, the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (NJMVC) voted unanimously to impose new rules that would prohibit Tesla, as a manufacturer, from selling directly to consumers. Instead, the commission said that Tesla would have to sell its cars through a franchised dealer—a situation that the electric car maker has repeatedly rejected.

New Jersey is the third state to impose similar restrictions on Tesla sales. Arizona and Texas have both relied on preexisting laws that protected third-party car dealers to keep Tesla stores out of their states. The reasoning: to protect the sunk costs that franchises have put into their dealerships and to promote competition among dealers.

The New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers (NJ CAR) was behind the push for the latest franchising rules. NJ CAR President Jim Appleton told NJ.com that the traditional franchising system "also promotes greater access to warranty claims and safety recall service, which are both something manufacturers hate."

Like a drug deal, but with cars

Rules like those adopted in New Jersey have already reduced brick-and-mortar Tesla shops in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Austin and Houston, Texas, to what Tesla calls “galleries.” By April 1, Tesla's two New Jersey locations (at the Garden State Plaza and in Short Hills, New Jersey) will have to join that list.

The rules haven't stopped Tesla from building out its network of supercharger stations throughout both Texas and Arizona, nor has it stopped Tucson, Arizona, from submitting a proposal asking Tesla to build its next factory there. And, contrary to what headlines might have you believe, buying a Tesla in a “banned” state isn't impossible—it's just a curious game of Taboo.

For one thing, employees in Tesla's galleries in Texas and Arizona are not permitted to mention price. “Store employees, for example, may not tell visitors how much a Model S costs,” Green Car Reports writes. “They can't give test drives. They can't discuss financing, leasing, or purchasing options.” In Texas, Tesla employees are not even allowed to refer potential buyers to out-of-state stores. In both states, cars are delivered by third parties rather than by Tesla (although some recent Tesla buyers have reported being able to pick up their new cars at the Tesla gallery).

To get around the restrictions in Arizona and Texas, Tesla sets up “test drive events” from time to time, usually spanning a weekend. If a customer wants to buy a car from the company, they can do so through a kiosk in Tesla's gallery, which routes the order information through California. You'll probably need to have a substantial amount of money upfront, however: financing out-of-state car purchases is difficult, and generally state sales tax must be paid upfront to get the out-of-state car registered. Owners might pay a higher interest rate on financing as well.

Most strangely, Tesla service centers in “banned” states are subsidiary companies that aren't allowed to display the Tesla logo in any way. The service center staff can't chat directly to the customer either; Tesla owners must describe their problem to a Tesla rep in California, who will then authorize the servicer to do whatever work needs to be done on the car. It's a bureaucratic game of telephone.

Another state bites the dust

In New Jersey, Tesla has been operating its two stores with the approval of the state since 2012, when New Jersey issued Tesla two dealer licenses. The state had been debating some regulation of Tesla's stores, but the company felt confident that the regulation would be decided through the state legislature. But New Jersey Governor Chris Christie expedited Proposal PRN 2013-138, which regulates the car company, much to the benefit of NJ CAR.

In an angry press release Tesla wrote on Tuesday, the company states that “neither Tesla nor the taxpayers of New Jersey have been able to participate in any of the analysis or been granted a hearing as requested last year when this was first proposed. Despite being the subject of the regulation, we were only able to obtain information about today’s meeting with less than 24 hours notice and in direct contravention of assurances by the Governor."

It's unclear just yet how the particular wording of the new rules will affect Tesla's operations in the state, beyond the company limiting all attempts at looking like a store. The proposal merely adds franchising requirements to the New Jersey code: "At the time of initial application, an applicant who intends to sell new motor vehicles shall submit a copy of the applicant’s franchise agreement(s) with the motor vehicle manufacturer(s) whose makes and models the applicant is franchised to sell."