Did You Know it’s Illegal for Texans to Buy Any Tesla Made in Texas?

Texas made would be pretty cool to hear about anything, but sadly Texans this one you can't buy.

Texans were excited to hear that Elon Musk would be moving a massive Tesla factory to the state's capital in Austin. This going to bring a ton of high paying jobs to Texans and it means we will be able to check out some new cars coming out of Tesla right here in our state. Unfortunately, you will never be able to buy one, unless a law is changed.

As of right now, a franchise law exists in Texas that does not allow auto manufacturers to sell directly to consumers. When you buy a new Tesla, you're buying directly from them and not some dealership. When this facility opens, which is supposed to be at the end of this year in Austin, everything must be sold out of state. For several years, they have had special sessions to change this law, but nothing ever happens.

Back in May Elon actually tweeted about it when he saw an article saying the exact same thing. So when this facility opens, what will Texans have to do? No orders may be placed or processed within any Texas facility owned by Tesla.

Once ordered, the vehicle is shipped to one of Tesla’s eight Texas service centers. The buyer must first pay for it online (from outside the facility grounds), and can then drive it away—meaning Tesla has not actually “delivered” the car to a buyer, but simply made it available to be “picked up” by an existing owner.

So this means a vehicle made in Texas will have to go out of state, before being given to an owner? This seems like some sort of legal loophole that Texas would try to stop, but this is how it would work according to Driver Magazine. As of right now, the law is still on the books and that facility in Austin is supposed to have their first fleet out in the beginning of the year.

The Texas legislature has a big decision to make when it comes to this. Upset auto dealerships or upset Elon Musk who is forking out a lot of money moving all of this to Texas.

The Texas Automotive Dealers Association sent a statement regarding the law that keeps Tesla from being bought directly in Texas saying, “TADA firmly believes in the franchised system of dealerships and would welcome the opportunity to work with any manufacturer. The franchised dealer system ensures competition and protects consumers. Clearly by the number of Teslas on the road today, if a Texan wants to buy a Tesla they can,” said Spokesperson, Jennifer Stevens.

We will see what happens about this law in the future in Texas.