Frankly, I think Mr. Gilbert’s argument is one-sided and somewhat duplicitous. Yes, free-market blah blah and all that - good, yeah, sounds okay... it’s those damned greedy dealers and those damned federal laws that are a holdover from the days when manufacturers treated dealers like captive customers....
The thing I DON’T see discussed here is what the hell is Tesla going to do about repair and maintenance? Are you going to have to go online and find some subcontracted Joe-Blow garage? Go to a Tesla Storefront[i.e., an AppleStore]? How are defect problems resolved?
Ever tried to get an actual PERSON on the line from Amazon, or iPhone, etc.
I am not against them being able to sell their cars however they want. But I don’t want to be bombarded with one-sided arguments dating back to the 1920s, either. In the end, the life-cycle for purchase, repair and routine maintenance to protect the consumer HAS to be thought out and fit into TESLA’s business model somewhere.
In order to buy a Ford Energi plug-in hybrid, you have to hunt down a specially certified dealership - all other dealerships are not allowed to sell them. Ford knows which side its bread is buttered on.