DETROIT, MI - General Motors released a statement Tuesday throwing its support behind HB 5606, proposed Michigan legislation now on Gov. Rick Snyder's desk that California electric car maker Tesla Motors calls "anti-Tesla."

"We believe that House Bill 5606 will help ensure that all automotive manufacturers follow the same rules to operate in the State of Michigan; therefore, we encourage Governor Snyder to sign it," reads GM's one-sentence statement, posted to its media webpage.

HB 5606, which primarily deals with fees auto dealerships charge for preparing documents, had language added in a substitute from the Senate floor that alters one word of state law, essentially reinforcing a ban on selling cars directly to consumers in Michigan. According to a lawyer for Palo Alto-based Tesla, the proposed legislation also goes further and prohibits them from displaying their cars to potential customers.

"These changes were put in at the last minute with nobody vetting them," said Todd Maron, Tesla's general counsel adding, "It looks like what they were trying to do is completely shut us out of Michigan."

Terry Burns, executive vice president of Auto Dealers of Michigan, told MLive last week after the proposed law easily passed through both state chambers that Michigan law already prohibits direct-to-consumer car sales, while Rep. Aric Nesbitt, R-Lawton, one of the bill's sponsors, said the amended legislation has nothing to do with Tesla.



Tesla, which sells its cars in at least 22 states, typically out of shopping mall storefronts, has already run into what some see as dealership-backed laws preventing its direct-to-consumer sales in places such as Texas, Arizona, New Jersey, and to some degree, Maryland, according to Maron. In those instances, he said dealerships have been trying to protect their traditional sales structure against Tesla's unique model.

Snyder is expected to make a decision on the bill this afternoon.