White House Punts On Petition To Allow Tesla Direct Sales 382
First time accepted submitter neanderslob (1207704) writes Last Friday, over a year after the petition gained the required signatures for a response, the White House rejected a We the People petition to "Allow Tesla Motors to sell directly to consumers in all 50 states." The letter went on to defend the administration by citing their initiatives "in promoting vehicle efficiency." In response, Tesla is firing back, blasting the White House for a lack of leadership on the issue and stating "138,469 people signed the petition asking the White House to allow Tesla Motors to sell directly to consumers in all 50 states. More than a year later, at 7.30pm EST on Friday as most of America prepared for the weekend, the White House released its disappointing response to those people. Rather than seize an opportunity to promote innovation and support the first successful American car company to be started in more than a century, the White House issued a response that was even more timid than its rejection of a petition to begin construction of a Death Star."
There's a legal issue here: the executive can't just wave state law aside. But they could suggest Congress write new laws instead of just noting that Congress would need to take action.
Online petitions with consequences? (Score:5, Interesting)
The problem with the petition is that it has no consequences.
Would it help if petitioners agreed to vote *against* the incumbent president's party at the next election if the issue isn't addressed?
Some of the petitions net upwards of a quarter-million signatures. Is that enough votes to get Washington to take notice?
Move to Canada (Score:5, Interesting)
Move Tesla to Canada. The rules of NAFTA trump this local dealer baloney.
Where are free market republicans? (Score:5, Interesting)
Kit car (Score:4, Interesting)
Tesla could sell the car as a kit where you order one or more of N components to complete the car.
Eg, the car body, the batteries, the clip-on steering wheel.
Re:What? (Score:5, Interesting)
But this would be the first time that a petition would actually demand that the USA federal government actually does what it is SUPPOSED to do, to force the USA government actually to apply the interstate commerce law correctly.... This is what the interstate commerce clause is meant for: use federal power to force States to stop anti-business practices that hurt businesses and people when States attempt to destroy competition by preventing businesses and people from engaging in interstate commerce. States are not supposed to be able to prevent businesses and individuals from competing with one another, that is the purpose of the federal interstate commerce law. Not to force people to buy products that they would not buy without government force applied to them by to prevent States from destroying free market capitalism, to prevent States from denying competition.
Of-course forever now the federal government and States engaged in anti-competitive practices that they accuse businesses of, which in reality are the product of the government corruption and collusion. Mandating and requiring business licenses for people to engage in commerce is the anti-competitive practice that needs to be stopped. Mandating and requiring that businesses abide by government rules and regulations is the anti-competitive practice that needs to be stopped. Income taxes are not only a horrible economic policy, it is also a way to segregate businesses into those, that have access to government officials and those that cannot compete because they are not getting special treatment.
Basically this petition is the first petition that I hear about that actually demands the USA government to behave Constitutionally where it concerns trade and business and individual freedoms. Of-course the government will pay 0 attention to it.
Spineless weasel (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:For us dummies.... (Score:2, Interesting)
Yep.... and back in the day when Ice was delivered to houses by delivery men guess who tried to outlaw the big bad freezer which was recently invented?
Anyone heard of an ice delivery company that goes door to door anymore?
Did you know those bastards actually tried passing a law to ban personal housing complexes from owning or operating a freezer? Thank god they didn't stop that source of innovation. I personally love being able to get ice directly from my freezer in the middle of the night. Or even make more ice for free by just pouring water into trays and then into my freezer.
Can you believe that I don't have to pay anyone per ice cube anymore? I'm literally *stealing* the jobs away from hardworking ice delivery men. Or was this a non-issue that was mostly forgotten?
Dealerships, you're next..... make your laws now before I can order a car directly from my living room while sitting in my underwear at 3am in the morning. Because I don't really need you just like we didn't really need ice delivery men once the refridgerator was invented.