A New York State Democrat who used to champion electric vehicles now wants to ban Tesla dealerships from operating in her state.
State Sen. Pat Fahy, a rabid Democrat, introduced a bill Wednesday that’d cause the five in-person dealerships that Tesla operates in New York to each lose their permit. Worse, Tesla’s competitors would then be allowed to bid for those same permits.
In a statement to Politico, Fahy seemed to make it abundantly clear that this attack on Tesla would be entirely political.
“No matter what we do, we’ve got to take this from Elon Musk,” she said. “He’s part of an effort to go backwards.”
Which is to say he’s part of President Donald Trump’s agenda to roll back “progressive” insanity and steer America toward the right direction again.
We need a “reality check”… Right track % in the U.S. is “through the roof!” Highest since 04 per NBC & 2nd highest since 09 per Marist.
Trump is more popular now in his net favorable than any time in term 1 or when he won in 2024.
Generic ballot looks like when GOP wins. pic.twitter.com/iDh0XEt1qK
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) March 25, 2025
However, in a statement to Twitter/X, she claimed that Tesla boasts a monopoly on selling directly to customers and that she’s just trying to break up this monopoly.
“Right now, @Tesla is the only ZEV [zero-emission vehicle] company allowed to sell directly to consumers New York State,” she wrote. “I’m introducing legislation with @AMRomero109 to end that monopoly & introduce competition into the ZEV market.”
Look:
Right now, @Tesla is the only ZEV company allowed to sell directly to consumers New York State.
I’m introducing legislation with @AMRomero109 to end that monopoly & introduce competition into the ZEV market.
With Tesla sales declining, NYers deserve a choice when buying an EV. pic.twitter.com/g25sSJsiFO
— Senator Patricia Fahy (@PatriciaFahy46) March 27, 2025
In an official statement, she said that her bill would eliminate this monopoly by preventing the “renewal of certificates for ZEV manufacturers who were previously issued certificates.”
“It keeps the current cap of five direct sales locations, maintaining the state’s measured approach and preventing market disruption,” the statement continues. “This legislation provides controlled growth of New York’s ZEV market by not granting indefinite privileges to early entrants.”
“Currently, all five direct sales locations are located downstate and are operated by Tesla, Inc., which limits consumer choice and prevents other manufacturers from entering the market. The bill would allow new manufacturers to enter the market and ensure that there is an opportunity to expand these locations geographically,” it concludes.
Read more here: https://t.co/izYH5Jjt3H
— Senator Patricia Fahy (@PatriciaFahy46) March 27, 2025
She wasn’t entirely wrong about the monopoly aspect, though it doesn’t appear to be Tesla’s fault.
“[Tesla] eschews the traditional dealership model of selling cars through third parties via franchise agreements,” Politico notes. “Instead, Tesla sells directly to consumers.”
“In many states, auto franchise laws limit this approach. In New York, Tesla was allowed to continue operating five locations to sell directly to consumers under a deal with brokers in 2014. The state’s powerful auto dealers want to completely ban Tesla’s model,” Politico’s reporting continues.
In other words, regular auto dealers would rather stomp Tesla out of business rather than compete with them fairly.
Responding to Fahy’s attacks on Tesla, critics have been assailing her on social media.
Look:
You are a grandstanding partisan hack. Bad idea!
— Dan McGurn (@UncleNoFo) March 29, 2025
@PatriciaFahy46 Taking jobs away from hard working New Yorkers and reducing state tax revenue from Tesla, doesn’t seem like a good platform for reelection.
— Susan Holden Martin, MBA, J.D.
(@MarsTweep) March 29, 2025
Wow. Can’t find a single comment on your page that speaks well of you…could it be that the REAL fascists are people like you in the Democrat party? Sure seems that way. You comrades seem to think you’re going to make America just like China. You’re not. Just go live THERE.
— unnatural science (@guitarist2112) March 29, 2025
You must be insane if you think it is in your power in the US to control everything businesses may do, where and how many facilities they have, that you can pick winners and losers out in the open like this, Kommissar. This is not a planned centralized economy yet. NYers revolt!
— [email protected] (@mcconnell575008) March 29, 2025
Straight out of the Marxist playbook pic.twitter.com/rg9bkSlsCE
— CogInMachine™ (@topher0313) March 29, 2025
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V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.
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