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Tesla refuses to quit in Texas, pushes for new bill that supports all automakers
Tesla is making a renewed push for its direct to consumer sales model in Texas after being rebuffed twice in the past by the local franchise dealer association.
In years past, Tesla doubled the size of its lobbyist team to fight for legislation that would allow the company to operate up to 12 store within the state. The resulting House bill did not come to a committee vote and the Senate proposal never received a hearing. The efforts are based largely in part to Texas being a huge market for vehicles sales, only second to California which leads as the US state with most sales.
This year, the company changed its tactics by supporting a bill that would allow any manufacturer to sell direct to customers. The Texas State Representative who filed the legislation in the Texas House, Jason Isaac said:
“[The bill] will allow manufacturers of vehicles any weight, class, size or shape to sell direct to consumers. It’s a simple, free-market bill to allow that to happen.”
For Isaac, the issue is about more than Tesla. According to The Texas Tribune, Isaac saw a glimpse of the future after visiting an Amazon fulfillment center in Texas, and seeing hundreds of robots automating tasks within the warehouse. It was then that Isaac was able to understand for the first time the efficiencies possible if trucks in Texas were able to move cargo autonomously within the state — technology that Tesla is already working to make available in the coming years.
“I really believe in the next 10 to 20 years we are going to see a complete change in our transportation system,” Isaac said, “and the last thing I want is any barrier to that technology being available.” He admits his bill faces a “really, really steep uphill climb” in the state legislature this session, but he says, “I think we should have the conversation.”
David White, who has been a spokesperson for Tesla in prior years noted that the bill does not put Tesla first, but rather opens up the market for all manufacturers:
“There are no carve-outs, incentives, subsidies, breaks, or deals for any manufacturers here. This is all about the consumer and it’s the direct sales model Texans have been asking for.”
Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) surged over 7 percent on Wednesday, canceling out some of the losses it has felt this week.
It has been a less-than-ideal start for Tesla in 2025, as the company has wiped out all of its gains felt from the victorious election campaign of President Donald Trump. The stock is down 34 percent so far this year.
The losses have mostly been felt due to reports of decreased demand due to pushback against CEO Elon Musk and his support of President Trump, as well as investor concern over the CEO’s personal use of time between the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Tesla itself.
In a note this week from Wedbush, analyst Dan Ives wrote:
“Musk needs to step up as Tesla CEO at this critical juncture. In a nutshell, the word ‘balance’ has been missing with Elon Musk and his ability to run Tesla as CEO….while instead focusing all of his energy and time driving his DOGE initiative within the Trump Administration. Since Trump’s White House 2nd term kicked off in January, we have seen Musk and Trump connected at the hip with Musk essentially living at the White House and Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach. There has been little to no sign of Musk at any Tesla factory or manufacturing facility the last two months and perception has become reality for Tesla shares. Trump getting elected President was a huge moment for Musk and Tesla in our view as this will create the fast track for an autonomous federal roadmap…however the DOGE efforts have now intertwined Tesla into this brewing political firestorm.”
Wednesday’s slight bump for Tesla shares is likely related to the support the company received from President Trump yesterday, who purchased a Model S sedan at the White House and pledged to pay for it with a check.
President Donald Trump buys a Tesla at the White House – Here’s which model he chose
The move was one that signaled a buying spree from high-profile Republicans, including Sean Hannity, among others, who announced their support for Musk and Tesla:
As promised yesterday, I Just ordered my new self driving Tesla! Over 1000HP, 0-60 in 2.0 seconds!
Details on how to win the Tesla of your Choice soon on https://t.co/9hkyEX1UVi! pic.twitter.com/PSCCtUsXK2
— Sean Hannity 🇺🇸 (@seanhannity) March 11, 2025
Tesla shares closed at $248.09 on Wednesday, up 7.59%.
Speaker Mike Johnson said Congress will support a probe into Tesla vandalism, which was ruled as “domestic terrorism” by President Donald Trump yesterday at the White House.
Speaker Johnson said that Congress will be investigating the sources of attacks against Tesla’s showrooms and customers, which have sparked national outrage as anti-Musk and Trump narratives have resulted in everything from simple vandalism to life-threatening attacks.
A post on X from Johnson read:
“The heroic work of Elon Musk has so panicked the radical Left that they’re now calling him “racist”(?!) and engaging in domestic terrorism to attack Tesla owners and their vehicles! Congress will investigate the sources of these attacks and help the DOJ & FBI ensure those responsible are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
The announcement comes just after Musk’s visit to the White House to allow President Trump the opportunity to look over a handful of Tesla vehicles for purchase.
Trump, who chose to buy a Deep Red Tesla Model S, which employees will drive, said during the latter half of the meeting in front of the White House that attacks against Tesla will be considered domestic terrorism.
The heroic work of @elonmusk has so panicked the radical Left that they’re now calling him “racist”(?!) and engaging in domestic terrorism to attack Tesla owners and their vehicles!
Congress will investigate the sources of these attacks and help the DOJ & FBI ensure those… pic.twitter.com/mA9gx8baJS
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) March 12, 2025
This could be due to Musk’s capacity as a government employee, as he is overseeing the operations of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). It also could be a simple sign of support for Musk, who has been President Trump’s right-hand man since the campaign trail.
Moving forward, we hope to see more combatance against the vandalism against Tesla showrooms, vehicles, employees, and owners. This could be the first step, and early perpetrators who are caught damaging property should be held to suffer the consequences of their actions.
News
Kia Norway explains controversial “Crazy Elon” Instagram post
As per Kia Norway, the post was simply an attempt at humor, which unfortunately missed the mark.
Kia Norway has removed an Instagram post that mocked Tesla CEO Elon Musk after it sparked backlash from electric vehicle supporters on social media. In a comment to Norwegian media, a representative from Kia Norway explained that the South Korean automaker did not intend to offend with its post.
Kia Norway’s Post
The now-deleted Instagram post showed a Kia EV3 rear with a sticker reading, “I bought this after Elon went crazy.” Such stickers have become commonplace among Tesla owners who have become disappointed and disillusioned with CEO Elon Musk’s increasingly political nature, as well as his work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The post drew global attention but quickly unraveled as critics, including prominent Tesla advocates and Tesla employees, dubbed the post disappointing.
Tesla Fans and Employees Push Back
A number of Tesla advocates such as Sawyer Merritt, who has over 800,000 followers on X, described the Instagram post as a “Bad look.” Other Tesla fans joked that Tesla Norway could do the pettiest thing and cut off Kia’s Tesla Supercharger access since Musk was “crazy” anyway. Elon Musk himself reacted to the post on X, stating, “They really did that?”
Tesla Senior Staff Engineer Yun-Ta Tsai also weighed in on Kia’s “Crazy Elon” post, stating that Tesla never runs negative ads on other OEMs. “Many colleagues working hard to share our supercharging infrastructure to other OEM fleets — which indirectly help their customers. We never ran negative ads on other OEMs. It’s insane that how other OEMs spent more time on negative ads on us than helping their own customers,” the Tesla engineer wrote in a post on X.
Kia Norway Explains
Kia Norway Communications Manager Christian Lagaard, in a comment to ITavisen, explained that the Instagram ad was a joke. As per Lagaard, the post was simply an attempt at humor, which unfortunately missed the mark.
“We posted this post a few weeks ago and picked up on the ongoing trend on social media. This was only intended as humor between two competitors from our side. The goal was to show that there are other options for those of you looking for an electric car. The idea came from us here in Norway and was not initiated by Kia centrally. We understand that humor resonates differently in different countries. We did not intend to offend or offend anyone. To avoid confusion about this or to provoke anyone unnecessarily, we have chosen to take down the post,” the Kia Norway Communications Manager stated.
Tesla stock surges on Wednesday, but there’s still more room to go
Congress supports probe into ‘domestic terrorism’ of Tesla vandalism
Kia Norway explains controversial “Crazy Elon” Instagram post
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