Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) recently signed a new law that limits most car manufacturers from selling vehicles directly to the public, while providing advantages to EV makers such as Tesla, Lucid, Rivian, and Polestar.
The legislation, set to be enforced from July 1, imposes obstacles for major car manufacturers, which are prohibited from bypassing independent dealerships and selling vehicles directly to consumers if they had existing agreements with independent dealers in the state prior to the law’s enactment.
DeSantis approved HB 637 on Tuesday. Similar laws are in place in other states, but Florida is the only one to contain a carve-out that benefits certain companies. Tesla has challenged a ban in Louisiana, calling it “protectionist, anti-competitive, and inefficient.”…