Tesla Motors, which makes a $70,000 all-electric car, is about to collide head-on with a big chunk of New York's automotive establishment. The conflict won't be on the roads, but in the state Legislature.

The battle, which accelerated last year near the end of the legislative session, focuses on whether the company should be able to sell vehicles directly to consumers, similar to the way Apple computer does with its Apple Stores, or whether it must use franchised dealerships, the way other cars are sold.

Tesla officials say the state's auto dealers are asking the Legislature to pull the plug on a new way of retailing. "It's a bald protectionist move," said Diarmuid O'Connell, Tesla's vice president of corporate and business development.

Auto dealers say they believe having franchises rather than factory stores guards against company ownership and price-setting control of retail sales outlets, and provides more choice for price shopping and assurances that buyers will have a nearby place to get their vehicles serviced.

"There are many reasons for that," mostly dealing with consumer protection," Deborah Dorman, president of the Eastern New York Coalition of Auto Retailers, said of the state franchise laws.

Both sides are set to square off in an Assembly codes committee meeting Wednesday over a bill sponsored by Democratic Assemblyman David Gantt of Rochester that would tighten franchise laws and make it harder for Tesla to open new stores short of going the dealership route.

Tesla has four stores operating in the New York City area, but it says Gantt's bill could force them to close.

Republican Deputy Majority Leader Tom Libous is listed as the Senate sponsor.

New York is among a group of states in which Tesla is tussling with rules over how the vehicle is retailed.

Earlier this month, New Jersey's Motor Vehicle Commission put the brakes on Tesla's direct-sales starting April 1.

Texas, Arizona, and Virginia have all restricted or halted direct sales.

Tesla founder Elon Musk charged on his company blog that auto dealers are married to internal combustion engines at the expense of electric cars in part because they make more money from service.

He also accused New Jersey's Republican Gov. Chris Christie of cutting a "back room deal" to protect auto dealer turf at Tesla's expense.

Dorman stressed dealers aren't opposed to selling all-electric cars. Nor do they have problem with Tesla — they just don't like the way the cars are retailed. "It's not really about them, but its about who steps up to the plate next," explaining that other products like the disastrous Yugo low-priced small car might leave motorists stranded.

She said dealers offer cars from Chevrolet, Nissan and Mitsubishi, all of which also have electric models. Toyota, Honda, Ford and others offer gasoline-electric hybrids.

Electrics remain a small part of the market partly due to their newness, as well as concerns over their effective driving range. Dorman said that as of August, more than 17,000 hybrid and electric cars were sold in 2013, although it wasn't clear how many were all-electric.

There are at least three Tesla vehicles on Capital Region roads, said Daniel Hayes, a Troy teacher and author who purchased a white-four door earlier this year. Hayes said he is not concerned about service problems for his vehicle. Shortly after his model was delivered, his moon roof stuck, but Tesla delivered a loaner to his home while his car was repaired. "They are really bending over backwards to make sure everyone is happy," Hayes said of Tesla. "It's nice to drive by a gasoline station."

Tesla says it has about 500 cars registered in New York state, in which about 800,000 new vehicles are sold annually.

rkarlin@timesunion.com • 518-454-5758 • @RickKarlinTU