Battle over Tesla sales in state highly charged

The official first day of business at the Tesla store located at 340 Greenwich Ave., Greenwich, Conn., Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Tesla designs and manufactures premium electric vehicles. The official first day of business at the Tesla store located at 340 Greenwich Ave., Greenwich, Conn., Friday, Oct. 7, 2016. Tesla designs and manufactures premium electric vehicles. Photo: Bob Luckey Jr. / Hearst Connecticut Media Buy photo Photo: Bob Luckey Jr. / Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 6 Caption Close Battle over Tesla sales in state highly charged 1 / 6 Back to Gallery

For those keeping count, there are three lonely Teslas registered in all of Bridgeport.

So why is a state legislator from Connecticut’s largest city, where the median household income is roughly $41,801, backing a bill to allow direct-to-consumer sales of the status-symbol electric car?

Not counting a $35,000 Model 3 that the Silicon Valley company plans to start production on this year, the least expensive Tesla model on the market is $68,000.

Bridgeport leaders say the benefit of allowing Tesla to operate dealerships in the state — as in New York and Massachusetts — goes far beyond the chrome “T” on the fascia of the trendy vehicles. The city has held talks with Tesla about opening a regional distribution facility in Bridgeport if the legislation prevails.

“People may look at it (as) this is high-end product,” said state Rep. Christopher Rosario, D-Bridgeport, a Transportation Committee member. “You’ve got to remember, Tesla hires folks from Bridgeport to work on these cars.”

Rosario is part of a disparate group of lawmakers backing the Tesla bill, which has more support than during its two previous failed attempts. It’s a coalition that crosses economic strata, from Rosario, a Democrat who represents part of the inner-city, to his Republican colleague, Terrie Wood of Darien.

But will it finally be enough to hold the charge and withstand the pushback of traditional car dealerships?

“There are a lot of high-ticket items still up for discussion,” Rosario said. “Not to say this isn’t, but it could get lost in the sauce.”

A dozen lawmakers — 10 Democrats and two Republicans — have signed onto the bill, which was approved last month 25-10 by the Transportation Committee. Supporters are looking to recoup the lost sales tax revenue on Teslas purchased by Connecticut residents in neighboring states, which escalates from 6.35 percent to 7.75 percent for luxury vehicles over $50,000.

“Let’s bring that back,” Wood said. “This is not a car company. It’s a technology company. It’s a company that can invest further in our state.”

There are about 1,300 Teslas registered in Connecticut, which represents 62 percent of the electric vehicles in the state, according to the Palo Alto, Calif.- based company. But Tesla’s footprint is currently confined to a vehicle service facility in Milford and a Greenwich flagship store that is the subject of an ongoing court battle between the electric car producer and the Connecticut Automotive Retailers Association.

Both Tesla and CARA are crowing about the breadth of the coalitions they have built for and against the bill.

“Tesla strongly believes in providing Connecticut consumers with the freedom of choice,” the company said.

But the dealers say that the Nasdaq-traded Tesla would gain an unfair advantage over mom-and-pop dealerships.

“Our expansive coalition of 270 dealerships, 14,000 employees, their families, the customers that purchase from them, the charities that count of them and the Chambers of Commerce they are members of, all have a commitment to making sure those jobs stay here and aren’t put at risk due to a bill that creates an unfair loophole for an out-of-state corporation,” said Jim Fleming, CARA’s president.

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