Clayton Esterson

The debate over Tesla selling its electric cars directly to the public is best summed up by a lawyer for a private dealership group who said "we do have a business model, and we've been playing by the rules for a long time" ("Tesla hopes to sell directly to Ariz. car buyers," Business, Friday).

This business model has made a handful of people very rich, and they want to maintain the status quo in changing times.

Imagine a future where Google has acquired Tesla and makes driverless electric vehicles.

Vehicle ownership would no longer make sense for a majority of people living in urban areas.

Who would want the expense and liability of owning and driving a vehicle when one can use a smartphone to order a nearby driverless electric car that picks you up and whisks you to your next destination?

These car-dealership owners want to prevent that future. And they will use our Legislature to keep Arizona in the gas-guzzling past.

— Clayton Esterson, Phoenix