Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
1,
2017
Senator
Martin
Looney
Representative
Joe
Aresimowicz
President
Pro
Tempore
Speaker
of
the
House
of
Representatives
Legislative
Office
Building,
Room
3300
Legislative
Office
Building,
Room
4105
Hartford,
CT
06106-1591
Hartford,
CT
06106-1591
Senator
Bob
Duff
Representative
Matthew
Ritter
Senate
Co-Majority
Leader
House
Majority
Leader
Legislative
Office
Building,
Room
3300
Legislative
Office
Building,
Room
4106
Hartford,
CT
06106-1591
Hartford,
CT
06106-1591
Senator
Len
Fasano
Representative
Themis
Klarides
Senate
Co-Majority
Leader
House
Republican
Minority
Leader
Legislative
Office
Building,
Room
3402
Legislative
Office
Building,
Room
4200
Hartford,
CT
06106-1591
Hartford,
CT
06106-1591
Senator
Kevin
Witkos
Deputy
Senate
Republican
President
Pro
Tempore
Legislative
Office
Building,
Room
3400
Hartford,
CT
06106-1591
RE:
Connecticut
House
Bill
7097
Dear
Legislative
Leaders:
The
Connecticut
Automotive
Retailers
Association
(CARA)
continues
to
interfere
with
the
wishes
of
Connecticut
consumers
to
cause
jobs
to
be
lost
and
to
harm
business,
all
in
an
attempt
to
remove
what
it
regards
as
a
competitor
from
Connecticut.
Jim
Flemings
recent
letter
to
legislative
leaders
is
yet
another
attempt
to
do
just
that.
After
fighting
for
years
against
Teslas
ability
to
sell
cars
in
Connecticut
to
customers
who
want
them,
Tesla
was
forced
to
open
a
non-sales
location
in
Greenwich
what
we
call
a
gallery.
This
gallery
is
not
how
Connecticut
consumers
want
Tesla
to
operate
and
it
is
not
how
Tesla
wants
to
operate.
However,
it
is
all
that
Tesla
could
do
given
CARAs
campaign
to
keep
us
out
of
the
state.
At
the
Greenwich
gallery,
Tesla
was
not
permitted
to
and
did
not
sell
any
cars,
as
CARA
has
thus
far
successfully
fought
against
consumers
rights
to
buy
cars
from
Tesla
within
the
state.
Instead,
the
Greenwich
gallery
provides
a
location
where
visitors
can
simply
be
educated
about
Tesla
products.
Tesla, Inc.
3500 Deer Creek Road, Palo Alto, CA 94304
p: (650) 681-5100 f: (650) 681-5101
May
1,
2017
Legislative
Leaders
Page
2
CARA
knows
full
well
that
a
car
cannot
be
bought
at
the
Greenwich
gallery
(or
anywhere
else
in
Connecticut),
which
is
what
we
said
at
the
February
22nd
Transportation
Committee
hearing.
Indeed,
CARA
learned
this
firsthand
when
it
sent
secret
shoppers
to
the
Greenwich
gallery
in
a
failed
attempt
to
trick
our
local
employees
into
selling
them
a
vehicle.
Despite
these
fake
shoppers
repeated
requests,
our
employees
did
not
sell
them
a
car
or
take
their
order.
What
our
employees
did,
and
what
they
continue
to
do,
is
educate
visitors
about
Tesla,
its
cars
and
other
products,
and
broadly
about
electric
vehicle
technology
and
its
many
benefits.
It
is
a
basic
constitutional
right
for
Tesla
to
be
able
to
communicate
with
Connecticut
residents
about
these
topics.
Ironically,
even
this
limited
non-sales
activity
is
too
much
in
the
eyes
of
CARA,
which
is
seeking
to
entirely
shutter
the
Greenwich
gallery.
Due
to
CARAs
actions,
customers
who
are
interested
in
actually
purchasing
our
vehicles
must
be
referred
to
out-of-state
locations,
in
New
York
and
Massachusetts,
where
we
are
able
to
sell
vehicles.
Those
states
have
attracted
jobs
and
economic
development
benefits
without
a
dime
of
state
tax
incentives
for
the
construction,
sales
and
service
jobs
we
would
like
to
deliver
to
Connecticut.
HB
7097
would
solve
all
of
these
problems
once
and
for
all.
Rather
than
fighting
about
what
educational
activity
Tesla
can
or
cannot
provide
to
Connecticut
consumers
at
a
non-sales
location,
Connecticut
consumers
would
finally
have
the
freedom
to
buy
the
products
that
they
want,
and
Tesla
could
create
the
jobs,
business,
and
improvements
to
sustainable
transportation
in
the
state
that
it
wants.
This
is
what
Tesla
does
around
the
world
and
is
what
Tesla
would
like
to
do
in
Connecticut.
We
know
legislators
are
working
hard
to
create
jobs
and
economic
development,
and
we
want
to
be
a
productive
partner.
We
arent
looking
for
state
tax
breaks
or
incentives
to
build
our
stores
and
service
centers.
Were
merely
asking
for
the
ability
to
create
jobs,
improve
public
health,
and
sell
our
vehicles
to
consumers
who
want
them.
Now,
more
than
ever,
is
the
time
for
the
Legislature
to
support
HB
7097.
We
respectfully
ask
for
your
support
and
are
happy
to
answer
any
questions
or
address
any
concerns
that
you
may
have.
Sincerely,
Diarmuid
OConnell
Vice
President,
Business
Development
Tesla,
Inc.