A bill has been proposed in Mississippi to restrict electric vehicle sales by franchised dealers

The Mississippi Senate passed a bill Thursday that would restrict electric vehicle sales to franchised dealers.

The bill, introduced by Mississippi House Republicans, will be presented to Republican Gov. Tate Reeves. The bill sparked debate among Republicans on the floor of the Mississippi Senate prior to passage; according to the Associated Press, opponents said the sales restrictions would hinder the new car market and could prevent automakers from bringing new jobs to the state, while proponents said they would ensure that all automakers "follow the same rules.

The bill, he said, would "ensure that all automakers follow the same rules.

This bill differs from a bill recently introduced in the Wyoming legislature that aims to ban EV sales by 2035. The Mississippi bill would not curtail or ban EV sales, but would allow them only through the traditional franchised dealer model.

The bill rekindles a debate from nearly a decade ago, when Tesla began promoting the opening of company-owned showrooms and online sales as an alternative to traditional franchised dealerships owned and operated by third parties. This led to a series of state-by-state legislative battles between Tesla and dealer lobbyists over changing existing franchise laws to allow direct sales.

Tesla currently sells its cars through one physical store in Mississippi, which is classified as a store, not a dealership, allowing the automaker to operate this store outside of state franchise laws, according to the Associated Press.

Other upstart automakers such as Lucid, Rivian, and Vinfast have largely copied Tesla's approach, which focuses on company-owned showrooms and online sales. In some cases, this means that in states with strict franchise laws, automakers cannot sell directly the cars they are building or will build. Acura also aims to sell only electric cars online.

Tesla faced this problem when it failed to get the Texas legislature to approve direct sales prior to the launch of its plant near the state capital of Austin; in a 2022 report, Rivian said that vehicles manufactured at its second plant in Georgia, which is scheduled to open in 2024, will be sold to customers in the state It noted that a similar review of franchise laws would be required in order to sell directly to customers in the state.