Tesla Inc. has filed a lawsuit challenging a law in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Tesla says the law violates the company’s constitutional rights by limiting its ability to sell electric cars directly to customers. Tesla filed the lawsuit last week in the District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, suing the Louisiana Automobile Dealers Association, various officials of the Louisiana Automobile Commission and a number of dealers in the state.
Tesla says they conspired to enforce existing laws and regulations. This is the latest action the company has taken to try to expand the market for selling cars directly to consumers, rather than using dealers as middlemen. Tesla argues that Louisiana’s law violates its rights to interstate commerce, among other things.
“Louisiana’s consumer freedoms are unduly restricted by protectionist, anti-competitive and inefficient state regulation and laws.” Tesla said in the lawsuit. The ban in Louisiana, which took effect in 2017, prohibits manufacturers from selling cars directly to consumers. Such laws were first proposed in the 1950s to prevent manufacturers from arbitrarily closing stores.
