TESLA BILL HURTS CONSUMERS

I have worked for more than 20 years at the Scranton Motors dealership in Vernon and believe passage of the “Tesla Bill” will hurt me, fellow employees at dealerships and Connecticut consumers.

There is no benefit to this bill, which would permit direct sales to consumers by companies that manufacture only electric vehicles. Tesla could sell its cars in Connecticut dealerships today, however, it chooses not to.

Tesla wants an uneven playing field. I cannot understand why anyone would want to put my local job in jeopardy by giving special treatment to an out-of-state company.

Connecticut dealerships provide 14,000 jobs and protect consumers as the independent go-between for a customer and the manufacturer when there is a recall or warranty issue. Jobs at the dealerships include sales, service, human resources, public relations, IT, social media specialists and technicians. Dealerships also offer health benefits, vacation time, family and medical leave, workers’ compensation and job training.

I know our customers and work with them when they purchase their cars, need repairs or come in for service. Dealerships have a strong incentive to keep our customers happy.

Consumers get the best deals because of competition between dealerships — in sales and service — and that doesn’t happen in Tesla stores.

David Baeza, Manchester