N.J. Senate committee backs Tesla Motors bill
March 9, 2015 Last updated: Monday, March 9, 2015, 5:32 PM
By HUGH R. MORLEY
Tesla Motors moved a step closer Monday to resuming selling its electric cars in New Jersey when a Senate committee backed a bill that would allow the car company to operate four outlets in the state.
Tesla’s three existing showrooms, at Garden State Plaza and on Route 17 West in Paramus, and in Short Hills, have been prohibited from selling cars directly to consumers since last spring, when the state motor vehicle commission enacted rules requiring all new vehicle sales to be completed through a franchise dealership.
Tesla has no franchises, and so customers can see the vehicles in the New Jersey outlets – called “galleries” – but purchase them only either online or in another state.
The bill approved by the Senate committee does not mention Tesla by name, but would allow a maker of so called “zero emissions vehicles” to open four outlets and a retail service center in the state.
In December, the company opened a 25,000-square-foot Paramus center, in a former Sixth Avenue Electronics store, with room to display about a half-dozen cars, and operate a service center.
The committee voted unanimously for the bill after a brief hearing with no opposition.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/n-j-senate-committee-backs-tesla-motors-bill-1.1285465
