Tesla has increased its pressure on Connecticut legislators to pass a bill enabling direct car sales to consumers by promising to open 10 stores across the state.
In an interview with the Hartford Business Journal, Diarmuid O’Connell, vice president of business development for Tesla, claimed that each of the 10 stores would “conservatively” employ 25 full-time workers. “We’re talking 250 jobs in the near term,” O’Connell said, noting it would be possible for some stores to have up to 50 people on the payroll.
O’Connell also stated that the “thousands” of Connecticut purchase reservations for the Tesla Model 3 vehicle is evidence that there is a strong consumer demand for the company”™s electric vehicles.
This is the second time in a week that Tesla has used Hartford-area media to lobby the legislature to pass HB 7907, the “Tesla Bill.” Elon Musk, the company”™s co-founder and CEO, wrote a letter to the editor in the Hartford Courant defending Tesla”™s sales model, which bypasses the auto dealership network in favor of direct contact with potential buyers.
“We use a direct sales model because it provides the best possible experience for our customers,” Musk wrote, adding that Connecticut consumers should have the right “to choose what cars they buy and from whom they buy them ”” just like every other product.”
