SOUTH RIVER — Gov. Chris Christie said today that the state Legislature — and not him — should bear the blame for a new rule that effectively bans Tesla, the high-end manufacturer of electric automobiles, from selling their cars directly to customers in New Jersey.



The state Motor Vehicle Commission last week unanimously passed a rule requiring franchised dealers to sell electric cars rather than allowing manufacturers to sell directly to customers as Tesla does at two showroom locations in New Jersey — at the Garden State Plaza and The Mall at Short Hills.



Elon Musk, the chairman of Tesla, has accused Christie of making a back-room agreement with lobbyists for the state's auto dealers.



But at a town hall meeting in South River today, Christie said he was bound by law to enforce rules requiring cars be sold through dealers and that Tesla would have to lobby state lawmakers to change the situation.



"I'm not pushing Tesla out; the state Legislature did," Christie said. "They passed a law — which is still on the books — which says if you want to sell cars in this state, you must go through an authorized dealer. My job is not to make the laws, it's to enforce the laws. And Tesla was operating outside the law."



Christie said he tried to warn the company that they were breaking the law.



"I have no problem with Tesla selling directly to customers, except that it's against the law in New Jersey," he added. "What they were asking for was an exception from the law. I'm not the king. I don't get to grant exceptions to the law."

Tesla did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

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