New Jersey Bans Tesla

New Jersey's Motor Vehicle Commission banned the direct sale of cars to consumers Tuesday, effectively shutting out Elon Musk's Tesla from the state. Traditional car companies sell their vehicles to car dealers who then sell them to customers, whereas Tesla manufactures and sells cars to customers. "This is an affront to the very concept of a freemarket," the company said in a statement. The head of the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers said car dealers are needed to protect consumers because "an auto manufacturer is congenitally incapable of fully and faithfully honoring warranty and safety recall obligations." The association spent $155,000 lobbying the state last year. Looks like it paid off.