HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - A last-minute offer by electric carmaker Tesla Motors to open a regional distribution center in Connecticut may not be enough to persuade lawmakers to pass a bill allowing the company to sell its vehicles directly to consumers.
The bill was placed Monday at the bottom of the Senate calendar, a bad sign at the session’s end.
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff said there aren’t enough votes to pass the bill in the Senate because there’s no agreement between Tesla, General Motors and the state’s automobile dealers association about allowing Tesla to bypass the franchise system.
Tesla says the distribution center would provide more than 150 jobs, in addition to the 25 jobs at each of the five showrooms it hopes to open.
Duff says Tesla would have mentioned the center during negotiations months ago if the company were “really serious.”
“For Tesla to put this out at the last three days of session makes me question the seriousness of their proposal,” said Duff, who championed this year’s version of the Tesla bill. The legislative session is scheduled to adjourn at midnight on Wednesday.
Will Nicholas, Tesla’s government relations manager, urged lawmakers to include language in the final bill requiring the car company to build a distribution center in the state 18 months after opening its first store.
“We are that serious,” he said.
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which represents GM and other car companies, contends that carving out an exemption for Tesla from a state law barring car manufacturers from selling directly to consumers undermines the need for a level playing field and predictability in Connecticut.
“Nothing is stopping Tesla or any other vehicle manufacturer from entering the Connecticut market today,” according to a statement from the group. “All they have to do is follow the laws that every other manufacturer is required to follow.”
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