June 7:
Tesla Motors has made new — and significant — headway in its war with the car dealership associations in the state of New Jersey with the recent passing of Bill A3216.
With the approval of the bill — which passed New Jersey’s Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee with a unanimous 4-0 vote, but still has to make it through more bureaucracy before it’s law — Tesla will be able to begin selling direct to customers once again.
To put it in (perhaps?) clearer terms, bill A3216 “permits certain zero emission vehicle manufacturers to directly sell motor vehicles to consumers and requires them to operate service facilities.” 
A welcome change from the direction taken by the state in recent months — as we reported previously, the state legislature voted in March to shut down Tesla’s ability to sell direct to customers. The ban was explained at the time by Governor Chris Christie as simply being the enforcement of a law already on the books.
If the new bill becomes law it will supersede said previous law, but still only allow Tesla to operate “four places of business in the state”, as well as requiring the company to offer a service center.
In related news — if you’re having a hard time of keeping track of where exactly Tesla can sell direct, and where it can’t, I recommend checking out Tesla Wars — Where Can Tesla Sell Direct To Customers? New Infographic Has You Covered
While it’s hard to say what exactly the future holds, it does appear that Tesla is beginning to gain ground in its battle with the dealers. Certainly a good thing, imo.
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Source: http://cleantechnica.com/2014/06/07/tesla-wins-big-battle-new-jersey-bill-a3216-passes-committee-vote/?
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