Tesla Motors and the Ohio Automobile Dealers Association are now talking to each other, but they still don't agree on much. The sides met yesterday, their first face-to-face meeting, as Ohio lawmakers seek a compromise in a debate about whether the state should ban Tesla's business model of manufacturer-owned stores - as the dealers association wants.

Tesla Motors and the Ohio Automobile Dealers Association are now talking to each other, but they still don't agree on much.

The sides met yesterday, their first face-to-face meeting, as Ohio lawmakers seek a compromise in a debate about whether the state should ban Tesla's business model of manufacturer-owned stores - as the dealers association wants.

An Ohio Senate panel is reviewing Senate Bill 260, which says that an auto manufacturer cannot own a dealership. The measure was introduced in December in response to dealers' concerns.

This has the practical effect of stopping Tesla from opening any new stores. Franchise auto dealers say that Tesla's model would undermine a system in which major brands, such as Ford and Toyota, are all sold by dealers that are independent of their manufacturers.

"It was a cordial meeting," said Tim Doran, president of the Ohio Automobile Dealers Association. "I don't think that anything new developed."

Diarmuid O'Connell, Tesla's vice president for business development, said he was thankful to the legislator who helped organize the meeting but was concerned because the dealers have not moved from their initial position.

Tesla is taking a more flexible stance.

"I think we've acknowledged a really fundamental willingness to engage on this," he said.

He would not go into detail about what concessions Tesla might be willing to make.

California-based Tesla, a maker of all-electric cars, has opened two stores in Ohio, at Easton and in Cincinnati. It has a pending application for a license to open a store in the Cleveland area. The legislation would stop the company from opening any additional stores.

The closed-door meeting was organized by several lawmakers, including Sen. Scott Oelslager, R-North Canton, who is chairman of the committee reviewing the bill.

"We're still in the discussion phase," he said.

He had no timetable for a possible vote on the bill.

The issue has been in the General Assembly in some form since early December.

Tesla faces versions of this fight in several states, including in New York and New Jersey. Yesterday, the company traded accusations with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie about a regulatory action that Tesla says would harm its business there.

In Ohio, legislators have said they feel caught in the middle of a dispute with no clear solution. They do not want to be seen as thwarting an innovative company such as Tesla, but they also do not want to go against the wishes of dealers, who are major employers and community leaders.

The dealers also have tried to block Tesla in state and federal court in Ohio. A magistrate recommended dismissal of the state case, and the federal case is pending.

Tesla has described the dealers as monopolists who are trying to crush an entrepreneurial company.

Doran said that Tesla is a giant business, with a market capitalization of about $30 billion, whose approach is harmful to the much smaller businesses owned by independent dealers.

"This is not an 'aw, gee, shucks, we're a new company' kind of a company,'" he said.

dgearino@dispatch.com

@dispatchenergy