Federal government sides with Tesla against state governments

Regulators in the Federal Trade Commission sided with Tesla, the electric car manufacturer, against state government regulators in a fight about which businesses and industries government rules should protect.

“FTC blog supports direct car sales as good for consumers,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted triumphantly. New York State lawmakers have been pushing a bill that would ban direct car sales, which is part of Tesla’s business model, at the behest of lobbyists who want Tesla to be required to sell its cars to car dealerships, who then mark up the price and sell them to consumers.