The Texas government may force Tesla to ship its vehicles out of state before delivering to local customers, due to its unique meeting structure which is set to convene for the year on May 31, according to The Drive.
In Texas, the state legislature meets only for a maximum of 140 days, after which point it breaks until “noon on the second Tuesday in January.” This year, according to the archaic calendar, the Texas legislature’s final day of meeting is May 31.
Without making expected changes to auto dealer franchise legislation currently in place, Tesla will have to continue bending over backwards to deliver electric vehicles (EVs) to local residents of the state – despite the company being well on the way to completing its Texas Gigafactory, set to begin deliveries this year.
In response to an article on the subject, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Thursday, “Tesla sure would appreciate changing the law, so that this is not required.”
Tesla sure would appreciate changing the law, so that this is not required!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 27, 2021
After the May 31 deadline, the only way for the legislation to be changed within the year would be for Texas Governor Greg Abbott to call a special legislative session to specifically debate this topic, which is unlikely given the state’s support historically of the gas and oil industries.
