Iowa Curbs Tesla Test Drives

“Tesla does not believe the statutes apply because the company was not selling cars, only providing test drives.”

Joel Aschbrenner - Des Moines Register - Sept. 25, 2014



Hypocrisy as car dealer groups appear to be looking out for themselves more than the consumer? -- Ed.



2014 Tesla Model S 60 - $72,240 to start incl. D&H with a 208 mile range.



Don't plan on taking the Model S for a test drive in Iowa anytime soon… Iowa told the company to cut short three days of test drives earlier this month in West Des Moines.



The Iowa DOT said the test drives were illegal for two reasons: Tesla isn't licensed as an auto dealer in Iowa and state law prohibits carmakers from selling directly to the public…



The Iowa DOT asked Tesla to stop its West Des Moines test drives after being alerted to the event by the Iowa Automobile Dealers Association, said Paul Steier, director of the DOT's Bureau of Investigation and Identity Protection.

Tesla store in Palo Alto, Calif.

Another longstanding state law prohibits auto manufacturers from selling directly to the public. Anderson said if carmakers owned dealerships, buying a car would be like buying a laptop at the Apple store — there would be one non-negotiable price… [Read More]



Thanks to @autonewz in my twitter feed for this one.

No Tesla S test drives for you Iowa!

Iowa Curbs Tesla Test Drives