In an appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box today, the senator equated allowing states’ “dealer protection laws” to block Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) sales to the now defunct Blockbuster asking viewers to imagine a world where Blockbuster could use regulation as a “defensive weapon” to block companies like Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) from offering streaming video.
“It’s an established product,” Rubio said. “Customers should be allowed to buy products that fit their need, especially a product that we know is safe and has consumer confidence beneath it.”
Rubio supports Tesla’s direct sales
He made it clear that he unequivocally supports direct sales of Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) in both his state of Florida and throughout the country.
Rubio’s comments and appearance today come just a couple of weeks after New Jersey lawmakers voted to block direct sales of Tesla in the Garden State under pressure from the car dealer lobby. The same lobby in New York is working to see Tesla banned from selling its cars in New York out of brick-and-mortar locations.
It begs the question, how do car dealership lobbies influence lawmakers? Wait, there is the answer right there. It is the targeting of innovation at its best and an indictment of influence wielded by lobbyists at its worst. The state of Texas’ similar shortsighted policies may very well cost the state Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s “Gigafactory” and the 6,500 jobs that would go with it if constructed in the Lone Star State.
Rubio’s bill
Rubio closed his comments by promising to introduce a bill today that would place hard limits on how much regulation can cost the U.S. economy each budget cycle. Unfortunately, that bill will likely include the EPA as well as short-sighted regulation on behalf of a small group. It may very well target OSHA. If the bill doesn’t target OSHA and the EPA, Fox News certainly will.
Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)’s innovation is a great example of the parts of the U.S economy that work. However, bills that block Tesla’s business model at its core show the corrupted, broken nature of its lawmakers.
