Over the past several months, we have reported numerous instances of vandalism against Tesla. No victim is too big or too small to be a potential target, as everything from keying vehicles to having Molotov cocktails thrown at showrooms is sufficient in the eyes of perpetrators.

However, the latest attack appears to be politically motivated and could hurt Tesla, its consumers, and even other automakers, and it seems to be some form of retaliation against Musk due to his affiliation with President Trump.

President Donald J. Trump purchases a Tesla on the South Lawn, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)

Lawmakers in New York state are now attempting to shut down Tesla showrooms in a move that would force the company to sell through dealer franchises, complicating the sales process and making the direct-to-consumer platform the company has used for years obsolete.

The New York Times reported that New York State Sen. Patricia Fahy is one of several lawmakers that is looking to hit Tesla where it hurts the most: its accessible and stress-free showrooms.

The problem is that this will hurt consumers more than Tesla.

Sen. Fahy said in March that the ease-of-sales platform Tesla uses has to be taken “from Elon Musk,” because “he’s part of an effort to go backwards.”

The licenses Tesla uses in the state allow it to sell cars directly to consumers instead of going through the traditional dealership model. These licenses, in Sen. Fahy’s perfect world, would be revoked from Tesla and given to other EV manufacturers. At one time, she was a proponent of Tesla and supported the company operating its D2C sales, stating it would cut emissions.

Now, Sen. Fahy believes Musk’s association with the Trump Administration is counterintuitive, as she says it is “killing all the grant funding for electric vehicle infrastructure, killing wind energy, killing anything that might address climate change.”

Tesla could face New York store ban under this legislation

She continued by stating:

“The bottom line is, Tesla has lost their right to promote these when they’re part of an administration that wants to go backwards. Elon Musk was handed a privilege here.”

The bill is with the Senate and Assembly Finance committees.

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Democratic State Senator Patricia Fahy and Assembly Member Gabriella Romero introduced S.B. S6894 on Thursday, effectively revoking direct sales permits from five existing Tesla stores in New York, as detailed in a press release. If passed, the New York bill would keep in place a five-store limit placed on direct sales locations, but would require the state’s DMV to re-evaluate existing permits and issue new ones, excluding Tesla, which currently holds all five of the available permits.

“This legislation provides controlled growth of New York’s ZEV market by not granting indefinite privileges to early entrants—currently, all five direct sales locations are located downstate and are operated by Tesla, Inc., which limits consumer choice and prevents other manufacturers from entering the market,” Fahy’s office writes in the release. “The bill would allow new manufacturers to enter the market and ensure that there is an opportunity to expand these locations geographically.”

Fahy also told Politico that the bill intentionally aims to target Tesla CEO Elon Musk in the wake of his efforts under the recently created government efficiency division under the Trump administration.

“No matter what we do, we’ve got to take this from Elon Musk,” Fahy said. “He’s part of an effort to go backwards.”

“The bottom line is, Tesla has lost their right to promote these when they’re part of an administration that wants to go backwards. Elon Musk was handed a privilege here.”

You’ve got to be insane to think it’s better for consumers and car buyers to delegitimize direct sales

“I love going to a car dealership” -nobody ever https://t.co/GXEzktUjnG

— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) February 10, 2025

READ MORE ON TESLA NEW YORK: Anti-Musk protests at Tesla store in New York lead to arrests

The release also highlights New York’s target of reaching 100-percent ZEV sales by 2035, as part of the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). The bill also says it hopes to bring zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) direct sales stores to other parts of New York, adding that limited access to direct sales models has prohibited more widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs).

“As New York moves toward a clean energy future, we must ensure that consumers have greater access to zero-emission vehicles while fostering competition and innovation in the marketplace,” Fahey says. “This legislation takes a measured approach to inducing the growth of direct sales and opening the door for new ZEV manufacturers to enter New York State’s market, while keeping us on track to meet our ambitious climate goals.”

Other automakers with direct sales models, such as Lucid and Rivian, would also be able to bid for the five permits, potentially giving smaller companies a chance to establish physical store locations.

New York is one of several states that have limits on how many non-dealership franchise stores, or direct sales model stores, are allowed to operate statewide. Still others include complete bans on direct sales, requiring automakers to sell vehicles through franchised dealerships, sometimes even including service locations.

At this time, New York joins eight other U.S. states that have a cap on the number of available direct sales sites, while 13 states — including Tesla’s home state of Texas — still have total or partial bans on direct sales.

Tesla has filed a petition with Wisconsin to allow direct car sales

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After the Cybertruck was spotted on display at showrooms in San Jose and San Diego on Monday, the vehicle has now made its way to at least a few more stores, including some in New York and Florida. On Tuesday, viewers spotted the Cybertruck in person at Tesla stores in New York City, New York and Tampa, Florida, along with an additional California location in Buena Park.

The appearances bring the total number of Cybertrucks at showrooms up to five units, and Tesla is likely to roll out even more in the coming weeks ahead of the November 30 delivery event.

Here are all the locations (so far) with Cybertruck on public display TODAY, November 21st.

California
•San Diego @ Westfield UTC Mall
•San Jose @ Santana Row

New York
•New York City @ Meatpacking

Go see a Cybertruck! pic.twitter.com/tOQwIcrUCH

— The Cybertruck Guy (@cybrtrkguy) November 21, 2023

UPDATE: a fourth truck has appeared in Buena Park, CA

A truck in Tampa, FL is rumored to appear tomorrow. https://t.co/oXQZWbcTiM

— The Cybertruck Guy (@cybrtrkguy) November 21, 2023

The first Cybertrucks hit Tesla showrooms at the UTC mall in San Diego, and at Santana Row in San Jose, while the other California location appeared later on Auto Center Drive in Buena Park. The Tesla store in New York is in the Manhattan Meatpacking district, while the location in Florida is at the Tampa International Mall.

On Monday, onlookers also noticed that one sign outside the San Diego location detailed the Cybertruck’s payload and towing capacity, though Tesla has yet to share official specs for the truck. According to the sign, at least one configuration of the Cybertruck will feature a payload capacity of 2,500 pounds and a towing capacity of 11,000 pounds. However, it’s not clear if this is the rating for the dual- or tri-motor versions of the vehicle.

Many have seen the Cybertruck being tested on public roads over the past few months, but the showroom appearances mark some of the first times Tesla has allowed people to get up close and personal with the pickup.

Tesla Cybertruck hits the beach and runs through ocean water

What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send your tips to us at tips@teslarati.com.

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This morning, u/fiehlsport posted on r/electricvehicles on Reddit that the “Clean Drive” EV rebate program had contacted him and that he would no longer be recieving the funds he applied for because the program had run out of money. Teslarati reached out to numerous parts of the New York State government and finally confirmed that this is the case.

NYSERDA (the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) runs the EV rebate program in New York. The agency confirmed to Teslarati this morning that both the program had run out of money and that customers who recently applied would no longer be receiving the funds they applied for. However, Teslarati was also told that “new funding will be given to the program soon,” said one NYSERDA representative, though no timeline for these added funds was available.

There is some relatively reassuring news for those who may have just purchased a vehicle in the state. Even though money may no longer be available currently, the NYSERDA representative assured Teslarati that customers could apply for the rebate later once funds were available. However, due to the program’s structure, customers will have to work with their dealers to apply again in the future, and there is no telling when this will again be available.

The “Drive Clean” Rebate had already run out of money once before and received a $12 million increase in funds from the state earlier this year; however, a downtime was associated with that fund increase.

Sadly, this has become an all too common reality for EV incentives. California’s program has also run out of funding numerous times, causing backups and delays in funds promised to customers. Suppose you consider purchasing an EV shortly and plan to use State funds. In that case, it may be a good idea to call your state’s energy/transportation office to confirm availability and eligibility.

What do you think of the article? Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns? Shoot me an email at william@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @WilliamWritin. If you have news tips, email us at tips@teslarati.com!

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