...AND CHEAPER...:

Tesla does not have dealerships. Not in the traditional sense, at least. There are no franchises. You want a Tesla? You just buy one -- directly, from Tesla the company. Go online, pick what you want -- and place your order. That's it. There is no "middle man" -- in the words of Tesla Vice President Diarmuid O'Connell. And thus, no mark-up. No salesman's commission. No "dealer prep." No "advertising fees." No BS. At least, not insofar as the transaction is concerned. You buy a Tesla the same way you buy an iPad.

This has made the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), the political lobby for car dealerships, angrier than a wet tomcat. NADA has sicced the lawyers on Tesla for daring to simply sell cars directly to consumers. They regard this as an affront -- a crime -- that must be enjoined by state lawmakers. [...]

The dealer organizations say this all about -- wait for it -- protecting consumers. [...]

NADA is mad at Tesla not because Tesla is "hurting" buyers (not one actual real-person "victim" of Tesla's evil practices has been produced) but because Tesla is hurting -- or threatening to hurt -- the profit margin of NADA's members. It's that simple -- and that outrageous. "We don't underestimate the dealers," O'Connell said. "The franchise dealer system was, at its inception, set up to protect the dealers from manufacturers coming in and competing with them."

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