May 1, 2017 Senator Martin Looney Representative Joe Aresimowicz President Pro Tempore Speaker of the House of Representatives Legislative Office Building, Room 3300 Legislative Office Building, Room 4105 Hartford, CT 06106-­‐1591 Hartford, CT 06106-­‐1591 Senator Bob Duff Representative Matthew Ritter Senate Co-­‐Majority Leader House Majority Leader Legislative Office Building, Room 3300 Legislative Office Building, Room 4106 Hartford, CT 06106-­‐1591 Hartford, CT 06106-­‐1591 Senator Len Fasano Representative Themis Klarides Senate Co-­‐Majority Leader House Republican Minority Leader Legislative Office Building, Room 3402 Legislative Office Building, Room 4200 Hartford, CT 06106-­‐1591 Hartford, CT 06106-­‐1591 Senator Kevin Witkos Deputy Senate Republican President Pro Tempore Legislative Office Building, Room 3400 Hartford, CT 06106-­‐1591 RE: Connecticut House Bill 7097 Dear Legislative Leaders: The Connecticut Automotive Retailers Association (CARA) continues to interfere with the wishes of Connecticut consumers to cause jobs to be lost and to harm business, all in an attempt to remove what it regards as a competitor from Connecticut. Jim Fleming’s recent letter to legislative leaders is yet another attempt to do just that. After fighting for years against Tesla’s ability to sell cars in Connecticut to customers who want them, Tesla was forced to open a non-­‐sales location in Greenwich – what we call a gallery. This gallery is not how Connecticut consumers want Tesla to operate and it is not how Tesla wants to operate. However, it is all that Tesla could do given CARA’s campaign to keep us out of the state. At the Greenwich gallery, Tesla was not permitted to – and did not – sell any cars, as CARA has thus far successfully fought against consumers’ rights to buy cars from Tesla within the state. Instead, the Greenwich gallery provides a location where visitors can simply be educated about Tesla products. Tesla, Inc.
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May 1, 2017 Legislative Leaders Page 2 CARA knows full well that a car cannot be bought at the Greenwich gallery (or anywhere else in Connecticut), which is what we said at the February 22nd Transportation Committee hearing. Indeed, CARA learned this firsthand when it sent “secret shoppers” to the Greenwich gallery in a failed attempt to trick our local employees into selling them a vehicle. Despite these fake shoppers’ repeated requests, our employees did not sell them a car or take their order. What our employees did, and what they continue to do, is educate visitors about Tesla, its cars and other products, and broadly about electric vehicle technology and its many benefits. It is a basic constitutional right for Tesla to be able to communicate with Connecticut residents about these topics. Ironically, even this limited non-­‐sales activity is too much in the eyes of CARA, which is seeking to entirely shutter the Greenwich gallery. Due to CARA’s actions, customers who are interested in actually purchasing our vehicles must be referred to out-­‐of-­‐state locations, in New York and Massachusetts, where we are able to sell vehicles. Those states have attracted jobs and economic development benefits without a dime of state tax incentives for the construction, sales and service jobs we would like to deliver to Connecticut. HB 7097 would solve all of these problems once and for all. Rather than fighting about what educational activity Tesla can or cannot provide to Connecticut consumers at a non-­‐sales location, Connecticut consumers would finally have the freedom to buy the products that they want, and Tesla could create the jobs, business, and improvements to sustainable transportation in the state that it wants. This is what Tesla does around the world and is what Tesla would like to do in Connecticut. We know legislators are working hard to create jobs and economic development, and we want to be a productive partner. We aren’t looking for state tax breaks or incentives to build our stores and service centers. We’re merely asking for the ability to create jobs, improve public health, and sell our vehicles to consumers who want them. Now, more than ever, is the time for the Legislature to support HB 7097. We respectfully ask for your support and are happy to answer any questions or address any concerns that you may have. Sincerely, Diarmuid O’Connell Vice President, Business Development Tesla, Inc.