Tesla gets OK to open dealerships in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG – Gov. Tom Corbett signed legislation allowing Tesla to open five dealerships in Pennsylvania.
Tesla pushed for the bill, signed last week by Corbett, because its business model ran up against a state law prohibiting manufacturers from also acting as a vehicle dealer.
The bill won swift approval after the sponsor, Sen. John Rafferty of Montgomery County, introduced it in June.
The law applies any electric vehicle maker and carries certain conditions, including that it deals exclusively in its own brand and it doesn’t hold a controlling interest in another make.
Rafferty said a similar exemption for Saturn was allowed in 2000. Tesla already opened a dealership in King of Prussia in suburban Philadelphia, although Rafferty and state officials couldn’t explain how it qualified for a license.