Tesla's fight with Michigan over direct-to-consumer car sales took a step forward this week. On Monday, US Magistrate Judge Ellen Carmody ordered Michigan State Senator Joe Hune and State Representative Jason Sheppard to comply with a subpoena related to protectionist legislation passed in the state in 2014.

Both sides must now agree on relevant search terms, and the lawmakers will have to hand over any records of communication with "non-legislative third parties, such as lobbyists and constituents." Tesla is seeking these records to prove that it is being discriminated against as an out-of-state company.

Hune and Sheppard had attempted to have Tesla's subpoena quashed, in part because they claim their communications ought to be privileged thanks to their positions as legislators. But the Judge was not particularly sympathetic to that argument. As a concession to keeping the lawmakers' communications private, the documents will not be made public, and the court will review any disputes over relevance behind closed doors.

Tesla wants Hune's communications because he introduced the 2014 legislation that banned direct-to-consumer auto sales by requiring that all new car sales can only take place through franchised dealers. Additionally, Tesla's lawyer told the court in June that Hune's wife is a registered lobbyist with a firm whose clients include the Michigan Automobile Dealers Association. He will have to turn over any relevant communications that occurred during the 12 months before and six months after October 21, 2014, the date the law was passed.

In Sheppard's case, Tesla's lawyers told the court that during a June 2016 meeting between the EV maker, Michigan auto dealer representatives, and state legislators, Sheppard told them "[t]he Michigan dealers do not want you here, the local manufacturers do not want you here, so you're not going to be here." However, Sheppard did not take office until 2015—well after the anti-Tesla law was passed. Consequently, he must now turn over any relevant records dated 2015 or 2016 to Tesla's lawyers.

On Twitter, Elon Musk reacted to the news with what might be taken as quiet glee: