Tesla, the auto company owned by politically connected billionaire Elon Musk, has on occasion fought against crony capitalism that benefits special interests at the expense of free enterprise.

But these days, Tesla is lobbying to prevent changes to a California law that forces other car makers to pay hundreds of millions to Tesla. The law places a quota on carmakers requiring them to sell plug-in electric vehicles as a certain portion of their sales. Carmakers who fall short of the quota can atone for their sin by buying credits from those who exceed their quotas.