You're not forced to buy a car from a dealer; manufacturers are forced to sell new cars through dealers in order to guarantee owners have somewhere to go for service and parts.
Back in the early days of the auto industry car companies sometimes existed just long enough to sell some crappy cars and fold before angry customers with defective cars came calling.
That's why the laws around manufacturers having dealers exist, no matter what Elon Musk tells you.
Ever notice that bodywork, parts, and repairs for Teslas are very expensive and difficult to come by? Plenty of Teslas with relatively minor body damage end up in limbo for months or more even though the insurance company is ready to pay for repairs. Why? Tesla's bodyshops have long backlogs because there are no parts, because Musk is desperate to get as many cars out of his factory as he can.
Lots of Teslas also get totaled because Tesla charges outrageous pricing for replacement parts. Musk is exploiting the insurance industry.
Insult to injury is that Tesla can decide one day that your vehicle is too damaged for their tastes, and refuse to sell you parts. No other manufacturer does that, not even Ferrari, and that's really saying something.
How would forcing new car sales to go through dealerships prevent Tesla from making its parts rare and expensive? Wouldn't all Tesla parts come from Tesla anyways, and just go through the chain Tesla->dealership->consumer, instead of Tesla->consumer?
(In case it's not clear, I'm legitimately curious and know basically nothing about dealerships.)
Back in the early days of the auto industry car companies sometimes existed just long enough to sell some crappy cars and fold before angry customers with defective cars came calling.
That's why the laws around manufacturers having dealers exist, no matter what Elon Musk tells you.
Ever notice that bodywork, parts, and repairs for Teslas are very expensive and difficult to come by? Plenty of Teslas with relatively minor body damage end up in limbo for months or more even though the insurance company is ready to pay for repairs. Why? Tesla's bodyshops have long backlogs because there are no parts, because Musk is desperate to get as many cars out of his factory as he can.
Lots of Teslas also get totaled because Tesla charges outrageous pricing for replacement parts. Musk is exploiting the insurance industry.
Insult to injury is that Tesla can decide one day that your vehicle is too damaged for their tastes, and refuse to sell you parts. No other manufacturer does that, not even Ferrari, and that's really saying something.